Download Milestone XProtect® Professional 8.1 : Administrator`s Manual

Transcript
Milestone Systems
XProtect® Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Contents
INTRODUCTION..............................................................................11
XPROTECT PROFESSIONAL OVERVIEW ............................................................... 11
CLIENTS........................................................................................................... 13
XProtect Smart Client ........................................................................................................ 13
XProtect Mobile client ........................................................................................................ 16
XProtect Web Client ........................................................................................................... 17
RECORDING SERVER MANAGER ........................................................................ 18
DOWNLOAD MANAGER ...................................................................................... 19
UPDATES ......................................................................................................... 21
BEFORE YOU START ....................................................................22
MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ...................................................................... 22
ADMINISTRATOR RIGHTS ................................................................................... 23
IMPORTANT PORT NUMBERS .............................................................................. 23
VIRUS SCANNING INFORMATION ......................................................................... 24
TIME SERVER RECOMMENDED ............................................................................ 24
INSTALL AND UPGRADE ..............................................................26
ABOUT INSTALLING SURVEILLANCE SERVER SOFTWARE OR XPROTECT SMART CLIENT
SILENTLY.......................................................................................................... 26
INSTALL YOUR SURVEILLANCE SERVER SOFTWARE .............................................. 26
INSTALL SILENTLY ............................................................................................. 27
UPGRADE......................................................................................................... 28
About upgrading ................................................................................................................ 28
Upgrade from a previous version ..................................................................................... 28
www.milestonesys.com
Contents
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
VIDEO DEVICE DRIVERS ..................................................................................... 29
REMOVAL......................................................................................................... 30
GETTING STARTED .......................................................................31
GET YOUR SYSTEM UP AND RUNNING .................................................................. 31
USE THE BUILT-IN HELP SYSTEM......................................................................... 33
LICENSES .......................................................................................34
ABOUT LICENSES .............................................................................................. 34
OVERVIEW OF LICENSE INFORMATION ................................................................. 35
ABOUT ACTIVATING LICENSES............................................................................ 35
About activating licenses after grace period .................................................................. 36
Register SLC ....................................................................................................................... 36
Activate License - Online .................................................................................................. 37
Activate License - Offline .................................................................................................. 37
Change SLC ........................................................................................................................ 38
ABOUT REPLACING CAMERAS ............................................................................ 39
APPLICATION SETTINGS ..............................................................40
ABOUT PRIVACY OPTIONS .................................................................................. 40
DISABLE INFORMATION COLLECTION .................................................................. 41
CHANGE/RESTORE MANAGEMENT APPLICATION BEHAVIOR.................................. 41
CHANGE LANGUAGE ......................................................................................... 41
ANALYTICS EVENTS SETTINGS ........................................................................... 42
Analytics event settings (for alarms) (properties) .......................................................... 42
EVENT SERVER SETTINGS ................................................................................. 42
WIZARDS ........................................................................................44
THE ADD HARDWARE DEVICES WIZARD .............................................................. 44
www.milestonesys.com
Contents
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Express ............................................................................................................................... 45
Advanced ............................................................................................................................ 47
Manual ................................................................................................................................. 49
Import from CSV file........................................................................................................... 51
THE CONFIGURE VIDEO AND RECORDING WIZARD ............................................... 56
Video settings and preview ............................................................................................... 56
Online schedule.................................................................................................................. 57
Live and recording settings Motion-JPEG cameras ....................................................... 58
Live and recording settings MPEG cameras ................................................................... 60
Drive selection .................................................................................................................... 63
Recording and archiving settings .................................................................................... 64
ADJUST MOTION DETECTION WIZARD ................................................................. 66
Exclude regions.................................................................................................................. 66
Motion Detection ................................................................................................................ 67
CONFIGURE USER ACCESS WIZARD ................................................................... 68
Server access settings ...................................................................................................... 69
Basic & Windows Users .................................................................................................... 69
Configure User Access wizard: access summary .......................................................... 70
ADVANCED CONFIGURATION ......................................................71
HARDWARE DEVICES ......................................................................................... 71
About hardware devices .................................................................................................... 71
About the Replace Hardware Device wizard ................................................................... 71
About dedicated input/output devices ............................................................................. 73
Configure hardware devices ............................................................................................. 74
Delete hardware devices ................................................................................................... 74
Replace hardware devices ................................................................................................ 74
Hardware properties .......................................................................................................... 75
CAMERAS AND STORAGE INFORMATION .............................................................. 77
About video and recording configuration ....................................................................... 77
www.milestonesys.com
Contents
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
About database resizing .................................................................................................... 78
About motion detection settings ...................................................................................... 78
About motion detection and PTZ cameras ...................................................................... 79
Configure camera-specific schedules ............................................................................. 79
Configure when cameras should do what ....................................................................... 81
Configure motion detection .............................................................................................. 82
Disable or delete cameras ................................................................................................. 82
Move PTZ type 1 and 3 to required positions ................................................................. 83
Recording and storage properties ................................................................................... 84
Camera properties............................................................................................................ 100
AUDIO............................................................................................................ 121
About recording audio ..................................................................................................... 121
Speakers ........................................................................................................................... 122
Microphones ..................................................................................................................... 122
EVENTS AND OUTPUT ...................................................................................... 124
About input and output.................................................................................................... 124
About events and output ................................................................................................. 124
Overview of events and output ....................................................................................... 125
Add an analytics event .................................................................................................... 127
Add a hardware input event ............................................................................................ 127
Add a hardware output .................................................................................................... 127
Add a manual event ......................................................................................................... 128
Add a generic event ......................................................................................................... 129
Generate alarms based on analytics events ................................................................. 129
Add a timer event ............................................................................................................. 129
Configure hardware output on event ............................................................................. 130
Configure general event handling .................................................................................. 130
Test a generic event ......................................................................................................... 131
General event properties ................................................................................................. 133
Events and output properties ......................................................................................... 133
www.milestonesys.com
Contents
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
SCHEDULING AND ARCHIVING .......................................................................... 142
About scheduling ............................................................................................................. 142
About archiving ................................................................................................................ 143
Configure general scheduling and archiving ................................................................ 149
Configure camera-specific schedules ........................................................................... 150
General scheduling properties ....................................................................................... 152
Camera-specific scheduling properties ......................................................................... 155
MATRIX .......................................................................................................... 157
About Matrix video sharing ............................................................................................. 157
About Matrix recipients ................................................................................................... 157
Configure Matrix ............................................................................................................... 158
Matrix properties .............................................................................................................. 158
LOGS ............................................................................................................. 161
About logs ......................................................................................................................... 161
Configure system, event and audit logging .................................................................. 163
Log properties .................................................................................................................. 163
E-MAIL ........................................................................................................... 165
About e-mail ...................................................................................................................... 165
Configure e-mail notifications ........................................................................................ 165
E-mail properties .............................................................................................................. 166
SMS ............................................................................................................. 168
About SMS ........................................................................................................................ 168
Configure SMS notifications ........................................................................................... 168
SMS properties ................................................................................................................. 168
CENTRAL ....................................................................................................... 170
About XProtect Central .................................................................................................... 170
Enable XProtect Central .................................................................................................. 170
Central properties ............................................................................................................ 170
SERVER ACCESS............................................................................................. 171
www.milestonesys.com
Contents
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
About server access ........................................................................................................ 171
About registered services ............................................................................................... 171
Configure server access ................................................................................................. 171
Server access properties ................................................................................................ 172
MASTER/SLAVE .............................................................................................. 174
About master and slave ................................................................................................... 174
Configure master and slave servers .............................................................................. 174
Master/slave properties ................................................................................................... 176
USERS ........................................................................................................... 176
About users ...................................................................................................................... 176
Add basic users................................................................................................................ 177
Add Windows users ......................................................................................................... 177
Add user groups ............................................................................................................... 178
Configure user and group rights .................................................................................... 179
User properties ................................................................................................................. 179
SERVICES ...................................................................................................... 183
About services .................................................................................................................. 183
Start and stop services .................................................................................................... 184
SERVERS ....................................................................................................... 184
Mobile Server .................................................................................................................... 184
Mobile Server Manager .................................................................................................... 190
ALARMS......................................................................................................... 192
About alarms .................................................................................................................... 192
Add a time profile (for Alarms) ....................................................................................... 194
Add an alarm ..................................................................................................................... 195
Configure analytics events in alarms ............................................................................. 195
Alarms properties............................................................................................................. 195
MIP PLUG-INS ................................................................................................ 199
About MIP plug-ins........................................................................................................... 199
www.milestonesys.com
Contents
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
BACKUP AND RESTORE CONFIGURATION .............................. 200
ABOUT BACKUP AND RESTORE OF CONFIGURATIONS ......................................... 200
BACK UP SYSTEM CONFIGURATION ................................................................... 200
RESTORE SYSTEM CONFIGURATION .................................................................. 201
BACK UP AND RESTORE ALARMS CONFIGURATION ............................................ 201
EXPORT AND IMPORT MANAGEMENT APPLICATION CONFIGURATION .................... 204
IMPORT CHANGES TO CONFIGURATION .............................................................. 206
RESTORE SYSTEM CONFIGURATION FROM A RESTORE POINT .............................. 206
COMMON TASKS .........................................................................208
ABOUT HANDLING DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ........................................................ 208
IMPROVE STABILITY WITH 3 GB VIRTUAL MEMORY ............................................. 208
ABOUT PROTECTING RECORDING DATABASES FROM CORRUPTION ...................... 210
ABOUT VIEWING VERSION AND LICENSE INFORMATION ....................................... 211
APPLY/SAVE CONFIGURATION CHANGES ........................................................... 211
CONFIGURE DEFAULT FILE PATHS .................................................................... 212
MONITOR STORAGE SPACE USAGE ................................................................... 213
VIEW VIDEO FROM CAMERAS IN MANAGEMENT APPLICATION .............................. 213
GLOSSARY OF TERMS................................................................ 215
INDEX ............................................................................................ 223
www.milestonesys.com
Contents
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Copyright, trademarks and disclaimer
Copyright
© 2012 Milestone Systems A/S.
Trademarks
XProtect is a registered trademark of Milestone Systems A/S.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. App Store is a service
mark of Apple Inc. Android is a trademark of Google Inc.
All other trademarks mentioned in this document are trademarks of their respective owners.
Disclaimer
This text is intended for general information purposes only, and due care has been taken in its
preparation.
Any risk arising from the use of this information rests with the recipient, and nothing herein should be
construed as constituting any kind of warranty.
Milestone Systems A/S reserve the right to make adjustments without prior notification.
All names of people and organizations used in the examples in this text are fictitious. Any resemblance
to any actual organization or person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and unintended.
This product may make use of third party software for which specific terms and conditions may apply.
When that is the case, you can find more information in the file
3rd_party_software_terms_and_conditions.txt located in your Milestone surveillance system
installation folder.
www.milestonesys.com
Copyright, trademarks and disclaimer
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
XPP81-am-1(a2)-100912
www.milestonesys.com
Copyright, trademarks and disclaimer
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Introduction
XProtect Professional overview
XProtect Professional is the right product for small to mid-sized installations that need robust singleserver surveillance software with the full functionality of advanced management, flexible scheduling,
fast searching and analysis. XProtect Professional supports up to 64 simultaneously with the widest
choice of network video and computer hardware equipment.
XProtect Professional consists of a number of components, each targeted at specific tasks and user
types:
Name
Description
Management Application
The main application used by surveillance system administrators for
configuring the XProtect Professional surveillance system server,
upon installation or whenever configuration adjustments are
required, for example when adding new cameras or users to the
system.
Recording Server service
A vital part of the surveillance system. Video streams are only
transferred to XProtect Professional while the Recording Server
service is running. The Recording Server service is automatically
installed and runs in the background on the XProtect Professional
surveillance system server. You can manage the service through
the Management Application.
Event Server
Handles configuration of alarms and maps from all servers within
XProtect XProtect ProfessionalXProtect Professional installations—
including Master & Slave setups (see "Configure master and slave
servers" on page 174)—throughout your organization. This enables
monitoring and instant overview of alarms and possible technical
problems within your systems. The event server is automatically
installed on, and runs in the background of, the XProtect
Professional surveillance system server.
Microsoft® SQL Server
Express Database
The surveillance system's alarm data is stored in a SQL Server
Express database. The SQL database is a lightweight, yet powerful,
version of a full SQL server which is automatically installed on, and
runs in the background of, your XProtect Professional surveillance
system server.
Image Server service
Handles access to the surveillance system for users logging in with
clients. The Image Server service is automatically installed and runs
in the background on the XProtect Professional surveillance system
server. You can manage the service through the Management
Application.
Download Manager
Manage which XProtect Professional-related features your
organization's users will be able to access from a targeted welcome
page on the surveillance system server.
www.milestonesys.com
11
Introduction
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
XProtect® Smart Client
Designed for Milestone XProtect surveillance systems, the XProtect
Smart Client is a powerful, easy-to-use client application for the
daily operations of security installations. A new, streamlined
interface helps improve usability, making it easy to monitor
installations of all sizes, manage security incidents and access and
export live and recorded video.
We recommend that you always use the latest version of the Smart
Client to best use any possible new features and functions included
in your XProtect Professional surveillance system.
XProtect® Mobile client
A free application designed by Milestone that allows you to view
video from your XProtect Professional surveillance system from
almost anywhere on your smartphone or tablet. You can also
control outputs, such as opening and closing doors and switching
lights on or off, allowing you to gain control and dynamically
respond to incidents in the system.
XProtect® Web Client
A simplified web-based client application for XProtect surveillance
systems for viewing, playing back and sharing video from most
operating systems and web browsers. With no need to install
additional software, you can monitor your XProtect system from any
Internet-enabled computer or device.
www.milestonesys.com
12
Introduction
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Clients
Clients are applications used for viewing live and recorded video from the hardware devices set up in
the Management Application.
XProtect Smart Client
About XProtect Smart Client
The XProtect Smart Client has many features and prepares for future integration of plugins, etc. The
Smart Client must be installed on users' computers.
Surveillance system administrators manage clients' access to the surveillance system through the
Management Application. Recordings viewed by clients are provided by the surveillance system's
Image Server service. The service runs in the background on the surveillance system server. It does
not require separate hardware.
To download a Smart Client, users connect to the surveillance system server which will present them
with a welcome page. The welcome page will list the available clients and language versions.
Surveillance system administrators use the Download Manager to control which clients and language
versions should be available to users on the welcome page.
The Smart Client is unlicensed and can be freely downloaded and installed as many times as needed.
Install the XProtect Smart Client
The XProtect Smart Client must be installed on your computer before you can use it. Typically, you
download the XProtect Smart Client from the surveillance system server, then install it on your
computer. Alternatively, your surveillance system administrator may ask you to install the XProtect
Smart Client from a DVD.
Tip: To uninstall the XProtect Smart Client, follow the normal Windows procedure for uninstalling
programs (see the Windows Help for more information).
Surveillance system administrators: For information on silent installation (when available), see the
separate administrator's documentation for your surveillance system's server software.

Install from the surveillance server (on page 13)

Install from a DVD (on page 14)
Install from the surveillance server
1. Verify that your computer meets the XProtect Smart Client's minimum system requirements.
2. Open an Internet Explorer browser (version 6.0 or later) and connect to the surveillance
system server using the URL or IP address specified by your system administrator.
3. On the Welcome page, click Language and select your required language.
www.milestonesys.com
13
Introduction
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Tip: You can easily change the language in the Options menu of the XProtect Smart Client.
Under XProtect Smart Client Installers, click the relevant XProtect Smart Client link to start the
installer.
4. If you receive a security warning (Do you want to run or save this file?, Do you want to run
this software? or similar), accept this (by clicking Run or similar—the exact name depends on
your browser version).
5. The XProtect Smart Client setup wizard starts. In the wizard, follow the installation
instructions.
The wizard suggests an installation path. Normally, you can use the suggested installation path.
However, if you have previously used add-on products, such as XProtect Analytics or XProtect
Transact, this path might not be valid anymore (see "Install from a DVD" on page 14).
Install from a DVD
1. Verify that your computer meets the XProtect Smart Client's minimum system requirements.
2. Insert the surveillance system software DVD, select the required language, and then click
Install XProtect Smart Client.
3. If you receive a security warning (Do you want to run or save this file?, Do you want to run
this software? or similar), accept this (by clicking Run or similar—the exact name depends on
your browser version).
4. The XProtect Smart Client installation wizard starts. In the wizard, follow the installation
instructions.
MIP Plug-ins
Your XProtect Smart Client may contain a MIP Plug-ins pane. The pane is used for handling plug-in
functionality, typically for third-party applications, for example an access control system or similar,
which can be controlled through the XProtect Smart Client. If your MIP Plug-ins pane has no content,
it is because your XProtect Smart Client has no plug-in functionality.
On some surveillance systems, you can add more types of content to views in your XProtect Smart
Client. This may be the case if your organization uses add-on products for increasing the capabilities
of its surveillance system.
Examples:

XProtect Transact, which is used for tracking transactions from cash registers, ATMs, etc.
linked with video recordings

XProtect Analytics, which provides video content analysis tasks such as license plate
recognition, perimeter protection, left-objects detection, etc.
The XProtect Professional plug-in for XProtect Analytics can only run on a 32-bit version of the
XProtect Professional. The plug-in cannot run on a 64-bit installation. By default, in XProtect
Professional versions earlier than 4.0a, the XProtect Professional is installed in:
C:\Program Files\Milestone\Milestone XProtect Professional\
and plug-ins for add-on products are installed in:
C:\Program Files\Milestone\Milestone XProtect Professional\plugin
By default, in XProtect Professional version 4.0a and later, the XProtect Professional is installed in:
www.milestonesys.com
14
Introduction
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
C:\Program Files\Milestone\XProtect Professional\
and plug-ins for add-on products are installed in:
C:\Program Files\Milestone\XProtect Professional\plugin
The change to the default installation path means that if you have plug-ins for add-on products for
XProtect Professional versions earlier than 4.0a, these plug-ins will not work with your new XProtect
Professional because your new XProtect Professional will look for plug-ins at a different location.
If you want your new XProtect Professional to work with older plug-ins for add-on products, the
solution is therefore either:
to copy the existing plug-ins from the old default installation path for plug-ins to the new default
installation path for plug-ins
- or to change the XProtect Professional installation path to the old default, C:\Program
Files\Milestone\Milestone XProtect Professional\, during the installation of your new XProtect
Professional.
Install silently
1. Locate the Smart Client installation program (.exe) file - MilestoneXProtectSmart Client.exe
or MilestoneXProtectSmart Client_x64.exe for 32-bit and 64-bit versions respectively. You
find the file in a subfolder under the folder httpdocs. The httpdocs folder is located under the
folder in which your Milestone surveillance software is installed.
The path is typically:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance\httpdocs\Smart Client
Installer\[version number] [bit-version]\All Languages\en-US
For example:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance\httpdocs\Smart Client
Installer\6.0a (32-bit)\All Languages\en-US
2. Run a silent installation using one of the following two options:
a
Run with default parameter settings:
To run a silent installation using the default values for all parameters, start a command prompt
(cmd.exe) in the directory where the installation program is located and execute following
command:
For XProtect Smart Client installation:
>MilestoneXProtectSmart Client.exe -–quiet
For XProtect Professional installation:
> MilestoneXProtectXProtect ProfessionalInstaller.exe --quiet
This will perform a quiet installation of the XProtect Smart Client/XProtect Professional using
default values for parameters such as target directory etc. To change the default settings,
please see next topic.
b
Customize default parameters using an xml argument file as input:
www.milestonesys.com
15
Introduction
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
In order to customize the default installation settings, an xml file with modified values must be
provided as input. In order to generate the xml file with default values, open a command
prompt in the directory where the installation program is located and execute following
command:
For XProtect Smart Client:
> MilestoneXProtectSmart Client.exe --generateargsfile=args.xml For XProtect Professional:
> MilestoneXProtectXProtect ProfessionalInstaller.exe --generateargsfile=args.xml
Open the generated args.xml file, using for example Notepad.exe, and perform any changes
needed. Then, in order to run silent installation using these modified values, execute following
command in the same directory
For XProtect Smart Client:
>MilestoneXProtectSmart Client.exe --arguments=args.xml --quiet
For XProtect Professional:
> MilestoneXProtectXProtect ProfessionalInstaller.exe --arguments=args.xml --quiet
XProtect Mobile client
About XProtect Mobile client
XProtect® Mobile client is a mobile surveillance solution closely integrated with the rest of your
XProtect surveillance setup. It runs on your Android tablet or smartphone or your Apple® device
(tablet, smartphone or portable music player) and gives you access to cameras, views and other
functionality set up in the Management Application.
In order to use XProtect Mobile client with XProtect Professional, you must add a Mobile server (see
"About Mobile server" on page 184) to establish the connection between the XProtect Mobile client
and XProtect Professional.
Install XProtect Mobile client
1. Access Google Play or App Store℠ on your device.
2. Search for and download the application XProtect Mobile.
3. Once the download of the application is completed, the XProtect Mobile client application is
ready for use on your mobile device.
For detailed information about how to set up your XProtect Mobile client, visit the Milestone website at
www.milestonesys.com.
www.milestonesys.com
16
Introduction
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
XProtect Web Client
About XProtect Web Client
XProtect Web Client is a web-based and touch-enabled surveillance solution that provides users
access to view live video, play back recorded video, print and export evidence, and more (access to
features depend on individual user rights).
In order to use XProtect Web Client with XProtect Professional, you must add a Mobile server (see
"About Mobile server" on page 184) to establish the connection between the XProtect Web Client and
XProtect Professional.
Access XProtect Web Client
If you have an XProtect Mobile server (see "About Mobile server" on page 184) installed on your
computer, you can use the XProtect® Web Client to access your cameras and views. Since you do not
need to install XProtect Web Client, you can access it from the local computer on which you installed
the XProtect Mobile server or any other computer you want to use for this purpose.
To access the XProtect Web Client:
1. Set up the XProtect Mobile server in the Management Application.
2. Open an Internet browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, or Safari)
or click Open XProtect Web Client in the Mobile Server Manager (see "About Mobile Server
Manager" on page 190).
3. Type in the IP address and port of the server on which the XProtect Mobile server is running.
Example: The XProtect Mobile server is installed on a server with the IP address 127.2.3.4
and is configured to accept HTTP connections on port 8081 and HTTPS connections on port
8082 (these port settings are the default settings of the installer).
In the address bar of your browser, type: http://127.2.3.4:8081/XProtectMobile/Web/ or
https://127.2.3.4:8082/XProtectMobile/Web/, depending on whether you want to use a
standard HTTP connection or a secure HTTPS connection. You can now begin using the
XProtect Web Client.
4. Add the address as a favorite in your browser for easy future access to the XProtect Web
Client. If you use the XProtect Web Client on the local computer on which you installed the
XProtect Mobile server, you can also use the desktop shortcut created by the installer. When
you click the shortcut, this launches your default browser and opens the XProtect Web Client.
Clear your Internet browser's cache upon upgrade
Note that Internet browsers running the XProtect Web Client must have their cache cleared before a
new version of the XProtect Web Client can be used. System administrators must ask their XProtect
Web Client users to clear out their browser's cache upon upgrade or force this action remotely (this
action can only be done in Internet Explorer in a domain).
www.milestonesys.com
17
Introduction
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Recording Server Manager
The Recording Server service is a vital part of the surveillance system. Video streams are only
transferred to XProtect Professional while the Recording Server service is running. The Recording
Server Manager informs you about the state of the Recording Server service. It also lets you manage
the service.
In the notification area (the system tray), the Recording Server Manager's icon indicates whether the
Recording Server service is running or not. Green indicates running (default), red indicates not
running.
By right-clicking the icon, you can open the Management Application, start and stop the Recording
Server service, view log files, and view version information.
A green icon in the notification area indicates that the Recording Server service is running.
A red icon in the notification area indicates that the Recording Server service has stopped.
Monitor System Status
By right-clicking the notification area's Recording Server icon and then selecting Show System
Status, you get access to the Status window.
Tip: Alternatively, simply double-click the icon to open the Status window.
The Status window lets you view the status of the image server(s) and connected cameras. The
status of each server/camera is indicated by a color:

Green indicates that the server or camera is running correctly.

Gray indicates that the camera (not the server) is not running. Typically, a camera will be
indicated in gray in the following situations:

o
The camera is not online (as defined in the camera's online period schedule (see "Online
period" on page 155)).
o
The Recording Server service has been stopped.
Red indicates that the server or camera is not running. This may because it has been
unplugged or due to a network or hardware error. Errors are listed in the Recording Server log
file.
Place your mouse pointer over a camera in the status window to view details about the camera in
question. The information appears as a pop-up and updates approximately every 10 seconds.
Name
Description
Resolution
The resolution of the camera.
FPS
The number of frames per second (frame rate) currently used by
the camera. The number updates each time the camera has
received 50 frames.
Resolution
The resolution of the camera.
www.milestonesys.com
18
Introduction
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Frame count
The number of frames received from the camera since the
Recording Server service was last started.
Received KB
The number of kilobytes sent the by camera since the Recording
Server service was last started.
Offline
Indicates the number of times the camera has been offline due to
an error.
Download Manager
The Download Manager lets you manage which XProtect Professional-related features your
organization's users can access from a targeted welcome page on the surveillance system server.
You access the Download Manager from Windows' Start menu: Select All Programs > Milestone
XProtect Download Manager > Download Manager.
Examples of user-accessible features

The Smart Client. With a regular Internet Explorer browser, users connect to the surveillance
server where they are presented with a welcome page. From the welcome page, users
download the Smart Client software and install it on their computers.

Language packs, which let users add additional language versions to their existing Smart
Clients. Users download such language packs from the welcome page.

Various plug-ins. Downloading such plug-ins can be relevant for users if your organization
uses add-on products with the XProtect Professional system.
The welcome page
The welcome page has links to downloads of various features. It is available in a number of
languages; users select their required language from a menu in the top right corner of the welcome
page.
To view the welcome page, simply open an Internet Explorer browser (version 6.0 or later) and
connect to the following address:
http://[surveillance server IP address or hostname]
If the Image Server service has been configured with a port number other than the default port 80 (you
configure this as part of the server access properties), users must specify the port number as well,
separated from the IP address or hostname by a colon:
http://[surveillance server IP address or hostname]:[port number]
The content of the welcome page is managed through the Download Manager; therefore the welcome
page will often look different in different organizations.
www.milestonesys.com
19
Introduction
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Initial look
Immediately after you install XProtect Professional, the welcome page will provide access to a Smart
Client in all languages. In addition, the Smart Client can be downloaded in 32- or 64-bit if you run a 64bit operating system and in 32-bit if you run a 32-bit operating system.
This initial look of the welcome page is automatically provided through the Download Manager's
default configuration—for more information, see Default configuration of Download Manager in the
following.
Default configuration of Download Manager
The Download Manager has a default configuration. This ensures that your organization's users can
access standard features without the surveillance system administrator having to set up anything.
The Download Manager configuration is represented in a tree structure.
Download Manager's Tree Structure Explained

The first level of the tree structure simply indicates that you are working with a XProtect
Professional system.

The second level indicates that this is the default setup.

The third level refers to the languages in which the welcome page is available. In the
example, the welcome page is available in a dozen languages (English, Arabic, Danish, Dutch,
French, and more).

The fourth level refers to the features which are—or can be made—available to users. For
example, these features could be limited to the Smart Client.

The fifth level ( 5 ) refers to particular versions of each feature, for example, version 4.0, 32bit, etc. which are—or can be made—available to users.

The sixth level ( 6 ) refers to the language versions of the features which are—or can be
made—available to users. For the Smart Client, which is only available with all languages
embedded, the only option is All Languages.
The fact that only standard features are initially available helps reduce installation time and save
space on the server. There is simply no need to have a feature or language version available on the
server if nobody is going to use it.
You can, however, easily make more features and/or languages available as required. See Making
new features available in the following for more information.
Making new features available
Making new features—plug-ins or special language versions—available to your organization's users
involves two steps: first install the required features on the surveillance system server and then use
the Download Manager to fine-tune which features you want available on the various versions of the
welcome page.
Installing new features on the server
1. If the Download Manager is open, close it before installing new features on the server.
www.milestonesys.com
20
Introduction
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
2. Download the relevant installation file(s) to to C:\Program Files\Milestone\Milestone
Surveillance\[relevant subfolder, often Installers or relevant language folder]. Double-click the
required installation (.exe) file.
3. When a new feature has been installed on the surveillance system server, you will see a
confirmation dialog. If required, you can open the Download Manager from the dialog.
Making new features available through the Download Manager
When you have installed new features, by default they will be selected in the Download Manager, and
immediately be available to users via the welcome page.
You can always show or hide features on the welcome page by selecting or clearing check boxes in
the tree structure.
Tip: You can change the sequence in which features and languages are displayed on the welcome
page by simply dragging items and dropping them in the required position.
Hiding and removing features
You can remove features in several ways:

You can hide features from the welcome page by clearing check boxes in the Download
Manager's tree structure. In that case, the features will still be installed on the surveillance
system server, and by selecting check boxes in the tree structure you can quickly make the
features available again.

You can remove features which have previously been made available through the Download
Manager. This will remove the installation of the features on the surveillance system server.
The features will disappear from the Download Manager, but installation files for the features
will be kept in the surveillance system server's Installers or relevant language folder, so you
can re-install them later if required.
1.
In the Download Manager, click Remove features...
2.
In the Remove Features window, select the features you want to remove.
3.
Click OK and then click Yes.
Updates
Milestone Systems A/S regularly releases service updates for its products, offering improved
functionality and support for new devices.
If you are a surveillance system administrator, we recommend that you check www.milestonesys.com
for updates at regular intervals in order to make sure you are using the most recent version of your
surveillance software.
www.milestonesys.com
21
Introduction
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Before you start
Minimum system requirements
Surveillance system server:
Name
Description
Operating system

Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows Server 2003 (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows Server 2008 R1/R2 (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows Vista™ Business (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows Vista Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows 7 Professional (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows 7 Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows 7 Ultimate (32-bit or 64-bit*).
CPU
Intel® Pentium® 4, 2.4 GHz or higher (CoreTM 2 recommended).
RAM
Minimum 2 GB (4 GB or more recommended).
Network
Ethernet (1 Gbit recommended).
Graphics adapter
AGP or PCI-Express, minimum 1024 x 768, 16-bit colors.
Hard disk type
E-IDE, PATA, SATA, SCSI, SAS (7200 RPM or faster).
Hard disk space
Minimum 1 GB free hard disk space available, excluding space
needed for recordings.
Software

Microsoft .NET 4.0 Framework.

DirectX 9.0 or newer.

Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe)
All can be downloaded from http:// www.microsoft.com/downloads/.
XProtect Smart Client
www.milestonesys.com
22
Before you start
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Operating system

Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows Server 2003 (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows Server 2008 R1/R2 (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows Vista™ Business (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows Vista Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows 7 Professional (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows 7 Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit*)

Windows 7 Ultimate (32-bit or 64-bit*).
CPU
Intel Core2™ Duo, minimum 2.4 GHz or higher (more powerful
CPU recommended for Smart Clients running high number of
cameras and multiple views and displays).
RAM
Minimum 1 GB (higher RAM recommended for Smart Clients
running high number of cameras and multiple views and displays).
Network
Ethernet (100 Mbit or higher recommended).
Graphics adapter
AGP or PCI-Express, minimum 1024 x 768 (1280 x 1024
recommended), 16-bit colors.
Hard disk space
Minimum 1 GB free hard disk space available.
Software

Microsoft .NET 4.0 Framework.

DirectX 9.0 or newer.
Administrator rights
When you install XProtect Professional, it is important that you have administrator rights on the
computer that should run XProtect Professional. If you only have standard user rights, you cannot
configure the surveillance system.
Important port numbers
XProtect Professional uses particular ports when communicating with other computers, cameras, etc.
Make sure that the following ports are open for data traffic on your network when you use XProtect
Professional:
www.milestonesys.com
23
Before you start
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Port 20 and 21 (inbound and
outbound)
Used for FTP traffic. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a standard for
exchanging files across networks. FTP uses the TCP/IP standards
for data transfer, and is often used for uploading or downloading
files to and from servers.
Port 25 (inbound and
outbound)
Used for SMTP traffic. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a
standard for sending e-mail messages between servers. This port
should be open since, depending on configuration, some cameras
may send images to the surveillance system server via e-mail.
Port 80 (inbound and
outbound)
Used for HTTP traffic between the surveillance server, cameras,
and Smart Client, and the default communication port for the
surveillance system's Image Server service.
Port 554 (inbound and
outbound)
Used for RSTP traffic in connection with H.264 video streaming.
Port 1024 (outbound only)
Used for HTTP traffic between cameras and the surveillance server.
Port 1234 (inbound and
outbound)
Used for event handling.
Port 1237 (inbound and
outbound)
Used for communication with the XProtect Central add-on product
(if used by your organization).
Port 22331 (inbound and
outbound)
Used for communication with the Event Server service.
Your organization may also have selected to use any other port numbers, for example if you have
changed the server access (on page 172) port from its default port number (80) to another port
number.
Virus scanning information
Virus scanning uses a considerable amount of system resources on scanning all the data which is
being archived or used by the Download Manager. The scanning process may temporarily lock each
file it scans, which can further impact system performance negatively.
If allowed in your organization, you should therefore disable any virus scanning of affected areas (such
as camera databases, etc.) on the XProtect Professional server as well as on any archiving
destinations.
Time server recommended
All images are time-stamped by XProtect Professional upon reception, but since cameras are separate
units which may have separate timing devices, power supplies, etc., camera time and XProtect
Professional system time may not correspond fully, and this may occasionally lead to confusion.
If your cameras supports timestamps, we recommend that you auto-synchronize camera and system
time through a time server for consistent synchronization.
www.milestonesys.com
24
Before you start
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
For information about how to configure a time server, try searching www.microsoft.com (see
http://www.microsoft.com/ - http://www.microsoft.com/) for time server, time service, or similar.
www.milestonesys.com
25
Before you start
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Install and upgrade
About installing surveillance server software or
XProtect Smart Client silently
If you are a surveillance system administrator, you can deploy the XProtect Smart Client or XProtect
Professional to users’ computers by using tools such as Microsoft Systems Management Server
(SMS). Such tools let you build up databases of hardware and software on local networks. You can
then use the databases for distributing and installing software applications, such as the XProtect
Smart Client, over local networks.
Install your surveillance server software
Do not install XProtect Professional on a mounted drive. A mounted drive is a drive that is attached to
an empty folder on an NTFS (NT File System) volume, with a label or name instead of a drive letter. If
you use mounted drives, critical system features may not work as intended. You will, for example, not
receive any warnings if the system runs out of disk space.
Prerequisites: Shut down any existing surveillance software. If you are upgrading, read Upgrade from
a previous version (on page 28) first.
1. Run the installation file. Depending on your security settings, you may receive one or more
security warnings. Click the Run button if you receive a warning.
2. When the installation wizard starts, select language for the installer and then click Continue.
3. Select if you want to install a trial version of XProtect Professional or indicate the location of
your license file.
4. Read and accept the license agreement, and indicate if you want to participate in the
Milestone data collection program.
5. Select Typical or Custom installation. If you select Custom installation, you can select
application language, which features to install and where to install them.
6. Let the installation wizard complete.
IMPORTANT: If you are installing on a Windows Server 2003 and installation fails, installing a
Microsoft hotfix might solve the issue and allow you to complete your XProtect Professional
installation. The Microsoft hotfix can be downloaded here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyId=8EFFE1D9-7224-4586-BE2B42C9AE5B9071&displaylang=en
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyId=8EFFE1D9-7224-4586-BE2B42C9AE5B9071&displaylang=en
When you have installed the hotfix, restart the XProtect Professional installation.
You can now begin to configure your XProtect Professional through its Management Application. See
more under Get your system up and running (on page 31).
www.milestonesys.com
26
Install and upgrade
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Install silently
1. Locate the Smart Client installation program (.exe) file - MilestoneXProtectSmart Client.exe
or MilestoneXProtectSmart Client_x64.exe for 32-bit and 64-bit versions respectively. You
find the file in a subfolder under the folder httpdocs. The httpdocs folder is located under the
folder in which your Milestone surveillance software is installed.
The path is typically:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance\httpdocs\Smart Client
Installer\[version number] [bit-version]\All Languages\en-US
For example:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance\httpdocs\Smart Client
Installer\6.0a (32-bit)\All Languages\en-US
2. Run a silent installation using one of the following two options:
a
Run with default parameter settings:
To run a silent installation using the default values for all parameters, start a command prompt
(cmd.exe) in the directory where the installation program is located and execute following
command:
For XProtect Smart Client installation:
>MilestoneXProtectSmart Client.exe -–quiet
For XProtect Professional installation:
> MilestoneXProtectXProtect ProfessionalInstaller.exe --quiet
This will perform a quiet installation of the XProtect Smart Client/XProtect Professional using
default values for parameters such as target directory etc. To change the default settings,
please see next topic.
b
Customize default parameters using an xml argument file as input:
In order to customize the default installation settings, an xml file with modified values must be
provided as input. In order to generate the xml file with default values, open a command
prompt in the directory where the installation program is located and execute following
command:
For XProtect Smart Client:
> MilestoneXProtectSmart Client.exe --generateargsfile=args.xml For XProtect Professional:
> MilestoneXProtectXProtect ProfessionalInstaller.exe --generateargsfile=args.xml
Open the generated args.xml file, using for example Notepad.exe, and perform any changes
needed. Then, in order to run silent installation using these modified values, execute following
command in the same directory
For XProtect Smart Client:
>MilestoneXProtectSmart Client.exe --arguments=args.xml --quiet
For XProtect Professional:
www.milestonesys.com
27
Install and upgrade
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
> MilestoneXProtectXProtect ProfessionalInstaller.exe --arguments=args.xml --quiet
Upgrade
About upgrading
When you upgrade from one product to a more advanced product, you get access to new functionality,
but you can also expand the use of the functionality that were already available. Your settings from the
previous product are transferred to the new product. This means that you will sometimes need to
update the settings of your old product in order to make use of the expanded functionality.
For further information about the various differences between products, check the Milestone website at
www.milestonesys.com.
Example: If you upgrade from XProtect Go to XProtect Professional, you should, among other things,
be aware of:

Smart Client: In XProtect Go, only one Smart Client can be connected at a time. When you
upgrade, you get the possibility of connecting more Smart Clients. Since you come from
XProtect Go, the Management Application is set to only allow one Smart Client connection at a
time. You can change this setting manually in the Management Application. In general, you
will gain the full use of Smart Client functionality when upgrading.

Number of Cameras: XProtect Go allows you to use up to eight cameras at the same time,
while XProtect Professional lets you use many more. The number of cameras added will be
inherited by the upgraded product, but you must, of course, add any additional cameras to the
Management Application yourself.
Upgrade from a previous version
You can upgrade your entire XProtect Professional system configuration from one XProtect
Professional version to another. The following information applies if you upgrade from one XProtect
Professional version to another and if you upgrade to XProtect Professional from a streamlined
product in the XProtect product range.
Back up your current configuration
When you install the new version of XProtect Professional, it inherits the configuration from your
previous version.
We recommend that you make regular backups of your server configuration as a disaster recovery
measure. You should also do this when you upgrade your server. While it is rare that you lose your
configuration (cameras, schedules, views, etc), it can happen under unfortunate circumstances.
Fortunately, it takes only a minute to back up your existing configuration.
IMPORTANT: If you are upgrading from XProtect Professional 6.5 or earlier, you must back up your
configuration before you upgrade.
The following describes backing up XProtect Professional 6.5 or earlier. If you need information about
how to back up configuration for XProtect Professional7.0 or newer, see Back up system configuration
(on page 200).
www.milestonesys.com
28
Install and upgrade
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
1. Create a folder called Backup on a network drive, or on removable media.
2. On the XProtect Professional server, open My Computer, and navigate to the XProtect
Professional installation folder.
3. Copy the following files and folders into your Backup folder:
o
All configuration (.ini) files
o
All scheduling (.sch) files
o
The file users.txt (only present in a few installations)
o
Folders with a name ending with ...ViewGroup and all their content
Note that some of the files/folders may not exist if upgrading from old software versions.
If you installed your XProtect Professional as a custom version to a non-default file-path, make a
backup of your existing configuration and restore it to a new installation folder called [relevant
folder]\Milestone Surveillance. When you run the installer, select Custom installation and when you
are prompted for an installation folder, select the [relevant folder] created for restoring.
Remove the current version
You do not need to manually remove the old version of XProtect Professional before you install the
new version. The old version is removed when you install the new version. Note, however, XProtect
Basis+ versions earlier than 6.0 must be removed manually before installing the new version.
Video device drivers
Video device drivers are installed automatically during the initial installation of your XProtect
Professional system. New versions of video device drivers, known as XProtect Device Pack, are
released from time to time and made available for free on the Milestone website.
We recommend that you always use the latest version of video device drivers. When you update video
device drivers, you can install the latest version on top of any version you may have installed.
IMPORTANT: When you install new video device drivers, your system cannot communicate with
camera devices from the moment you begin the installation until the moment installation is complete
and you have restarted the Recording Server service. Usually, the process takes no longer than a few
minutes, but it is highly recommended that you perform the update at a time when you do not expect
important incidents to take place.
1. On the XProtect Professional server on which you want to install the new video device drivers
version, shut down any running surveillance software, including any running Recording Server
service.
2. Run the XProtect Device Pack installation file and follow the wizard.
3. When the wizard is complete, remember to start the Recording Server service again.
If you use the Add Hardware Devices Wizard's Import from CSV File (on page 51) option, you must—if
cameras and server are offline—specify a HardwareDriverID for each hardware device you want to
add. To view a current list of IDs, view the release notes for the XProtect Device Pack used in your
organization. Alternatively, visit the Milestone website for the latest information.
www.milestonesys.com
29
Install and upgrade
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Removal
To remove the entire XProtect Professional surveillance system (that is the surveillance server
software and related installation files, the video device drivers, the Download Manager and the Smart
Client) from your server, follow the normal Windows procedure for uninstalling programs (see the
Windows Help for more information).
Individual components, such as Smart Client and video device drivers, can also be removed
individually using the normal Windows procedure for uninstalling programs.
If you remove your XProtect Professional surveillance system, your recordings will not be removed.
They will remain on the server even after the server software has been removed. Likewise, the
XProtect Professional configuration files will remain on the server. This allows you to reuse your
configuration if you install XProtect Professional again at a later time.
www.milestonesys.com
30
Install and upgrade
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Getting started
Get your system up and running
This checklist outlines the tasks typically involved when you set up a working XProtect Professional
system. Note that although information is presented as a checklist, a completed checklist does not in
itself guarantee that the system matches the exact needs of your organization. To make the system
match the needs of your organization, it is highly recommended that you monitor and adjust the
system once it is running.
For example, it is often a good idea to spend time on testing and adjusting the motion detection
sensitivity settings for individual cameras under different physical conditions (day/night, windy/calm,
etc.). Do this once the system is running. The setup of events and associated actions typically also
depends on your organization's needs.
You can print and use this checklist as you go along.
Verify initial configuration of cameras and other hardware devices
Before doing anything on XProtect Professional, make sure the hardware devices (cameras,
video encoders, etc.) that you want to use are correctly installed and configured with IP
addresses, passwords, etc. as specified by the manufacturers. Such initial configuration is
required in order to be able to connect the devices to the network and XProtect
Professional.
Register your XProtect Professional software
This step may not be required; your XProtect Professional vendor often takes care of the
process for you.You must first register your software and next activate your licenses. See
Manage licenses (see "About activating licenses" on page 35).
Install XProtect Professional
See Install surveillance server software (see "Install your surveillance server software" on
page 26). If you are upgrading an existing version of XProtect Professional, see Upgrade
from a previous version (on page 28).
Open the Management Application
See Access the Management Application.
Add hardware devices in XProtect Professional
XProtect Professional can quickly scan your network for relevant hardware devices
(cameras, video encoders, etc.), and add them to your system. See Add hardware devices
(see "The Add Hardware Devices wizard" on page 44).
www.milestonesys.com
31
Getting started
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Configure cameras in XProtect Professional
You can specify a wide variety of settings for each camera connected to your XProtect
Professional system. Settings include video format, resolution, motion detection sensitivity,
where to store and archive (see "About archiving" on page 143) recordings, any PTZ
(Pan/Tilt/Zoom) preset positions, association with microphones , speakers etc. See About
video and recording configuration (on page 77).
Configure events, input and output
If required, system events, for example based on input from sensors, can be used to
automatically trigger actions in XProtect Professional. Examples of actions: starting or
stopping recording on cameras, switching to a particular video frame rate, making PTZ
cameras move to specific preset positions. Events can also be used to activate hardware
output, such as lights or sirens. See Overview of events.
Configure scheduling
When do you want to archive? Do you want some cameras to transfer video to XProtect
Professional at all times, and other cameras to transfer video only within specific periods of
time, or when specific events occur? With the scheduling feature, you can specify this. You
can also specify when you want to receive notifications from the system. See Configure
general scheduling and archiving (on page 149) and Configure camera-specific schedules
(on page 79).
Configure clients' access to XProtect Professional
A number of different client applications (see About clients) is included with XProtect
Professional. You can specify whether you want clients to access the XProtect Professional
server from the internet, how many clients you want to be able to connect simultaneously,
etc. (see Configure server access (on page 171)).
Configure master/slave servers
This step is only required if you want to run several XProtect Professional servers together.
A master/slave setup allows you to combine several XProtect Professional servers and
thereby extend the number of cameras you can use beyond the maximum allowed number
of cameras for a single server. In such a setup, clients will still have a single point of
contact: they connect to the master server but also get access, transparently, to cameras
and recordings on the slave servers. See Configure master and slave servers (on page
174).
Configure users
Now specify who should be able to access your XProtect Professional system, and how. Do
you want password protection for the Management Application? Who should have client
access, and with which rights? See Configure User Access wizard (on page 68), Add basic
users (on page 177), Add user groups (on page 178) and Configure user and group rights
(on page 179).
The above list represents the configuration steps that most administrators are likely to cover.
Additional configuration is of course possible, for example if your organization wants to use the Matrix
(see "Configure Matrix" on page 158)video sharing feature or similar.
www.milestonesys.com
32
Getting started
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Note that the behavior of the Management Application can be customized (see "Change/restore
Management Application behavior" on page 41). Descriptions here are, however, always based on the
Management Application's default behavior.
Use the built-in help system
To use the XProtect Professional built-in help system, click the Help button in the Management
Application's toolbar. Alternatively, press the F1 key on your keyboard.
The help system opens in a separate window and allows you to easily switch between help and
XProtect Professional itself. The help system is context-sensitive. This means that when you press F1
for help while you work in a particular XProtect Professional dialog, the help system displays help that
matches that dialog.
Navigating the built-in help system
To navigate between the contents of the help system, use the help window's tabs: Contents, Search,
and Favorites, or use the links inside the help topics.

Contents Tab: Navigate the help system based on a tree structure. Many users are familiar
with this type of navigation from, for example, Windows Explorer.

Search Tab: Search for help topics that contain particular terms of interest. For example, you
can search for the term zoom and every help topic that contains the term zoom is listed in the
search results. When you double-click a help topic title in the search results list, the required
topic opens.

Favorites Tab: Build a list of your favorite help topics. Whenever you find a help topic of
particular interest to you, add the topic to your favorites list. You can then access the topic with
a single click—also if you close the help window and return to it later.
Help topics contain various types of links, notably so-called expanding drop-down links. When you
click such a link, detailed information is displayed immediately below the link itself and the content of
the topic expands. Expanding drop-down links help save space.
Tip: To quickly hide all texts from expanding drop-down links in a help topic, click the title of the topic
on the help system's Contents tab.
Printing help topics
To print a help topic, navigate to the required topic and click the help window's Print button. A dialog
box may ask you whether you wish to print the selected topic only or all topics under the selected
heading; when this is the case, select Print the selected topic and then click OK.
Tip: When you print a help topic, it is printed as you see it on your screen. Therefore, if a topic
contains expanding drop-down links, click each required drop-down link to display the text to include it
when you print. This allows you to create targeted printouts that contain exactly the amount of
information you require.
www.milestonesys.com
33
Getting started
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Licenses
About licenses
When you purchase XProtect Professional, you also purchase a certain number of licenses for device
channels. Device channels are typically cameras but could also be dedicated input/output boxes. One
device channel license enables you to run one camera or one dedicated input/output box. You can use
and define an unlimited number of microphones, , speakers inputs, and outputs.
When you have installed the various XProtect Professional components, configured the system, and
added recording servers and cameras through the Management Application, the surveillance system
initially runs on temporary licenses that need to be activated before a certain period ends. This is
called the grace period.
If grace periods have expired on one or more of your devices and no licenses have been activated,
recording servers and cameras do not send data to the surveillance system. We therefore recommend
that you activate your licenses (see "About activating licenses" on page 35) before you make final
adjustments to your system and its devices.
If you want to add—or have already added—more device channels than you currently have licenses
for, you must buy additional licenses before the cameras can send data to your XProtect Professional
system.
To get additional licenses for XProtect Professional, contact your vendor, or visit
www.milestonesys.com to log into the software registration service center. When your license file (.lic)
is updated, you can activate your licenses. See Manage licenses for more information on activating.
Tip: If short of licenses—until you get additional ones—you can disable some less important cameras
to allow some of the new cameras to run instead. To disable or enable a camera, expand Hardware
Devices in the Management Application's navigation pane. Then select the relevant hardware device,
right-click the required camera, and then select Enable or Disable.
Which devices require a license?
About replacing cameras
You can replace a camera that is licensed in XProtect Professional and have the new camera
activated and licensed instead. The total number of purchased device channels corresponds to the
total number of cameras that can run on the surveillance system simultaneously. If you remove a
camera from a recording server, you also free a license.
When you replace a camera, you must use the Management Application Replace Hardware Device
wizard (see "About the Replace Hardware Device wizard" on page 71) to map all relevant databases
of cameras, microphones, inputs, outputs, etc. Remember to activate the license once you are
finished.
www.milestonesys.com
34
Licenses
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Overview of license information (on page 35)
About getting additional licenses
If you want to add—or have already added—more device channels than you currently have licenses
for, you must buy additional licenses before the cameras can send data to your XProtect Professional
system.
To get additional licenses for XProtect Professional, contact your vendor, or visit
www.milestonesys.com to log into the software registration service center. When your license file (.lic)
is updated, you can activate your licenses. See Manage licenses for more information on activating.
Overview of license information
You get an excellent overview of your XProtect Professional licenses from the Management
Application's navigation pane. Expand Advanced Configuration and select Hardware Devices. This
presents you with the Hardware Device Summary table.
Name
Description
Hardware Device Name
Hardware devices (typically cameras but could also be dedicated
input/output boxes).
Licensing status of your hardware devices.
License
Can be either Licensed, [number of] day(s) grace, Trial, or
Expired.
Video Channels
Number of available video channels on your hardware devices.
Licensed Channels
Number of video channels on each of your hardware devices for
which you have a license.
Speaker Channels
Number of available speaker channels on your hardware devices.
Microphone Channels
Number of available microphone channels on your hardware
devices.
Address
http addresses of your hardware devices.
WWW
Links to http addresses of your hardware devices.
Port
Port used by your hardware devices.
Device Driver
Names of device drivers associated with your hardware devices.
You can activate licenses online or offline. On the Management Application's toolbar, click File and
either Activate License Online or Manage License Offline.
Cameras (or dedicated input/output boxes) for which you are missing a license will not send data to
the surveillance system. Cameras added after all available licenses are used are unavailable.
About activating licenses
When you purchase XProtect Professional, you receive a temporary license file (.lic) including a
Software License Code (SLC). You must use this temporary license file when you install your system.
www.milestonesys.com
35
Licenses
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Also, in order to get your permanent license, you should register your SLC before you activate
licenses.
When you have registered your SLC, you can activate your licenses in two ways: online or offline.
Tip: If the computer that runs the Management Application has internet access, use online activation.
You cannot activate more licenses than you have bought. If you have added more cameras than you
have licenses for, you must buy additional licenses before you can activate them.
Tip: To get an overview of your licenses, go to the Management Application's navigation pane,
expand Advanced Configuration, select Hardware Devices and view your Hardware Device
Summary table.
In the following examples, it is assumed that XProtect Professional is installed with a temporary
license (.lic) file.
About activating licenses after grace period
If the grace period is exceeded before activation, all cameras that are not activated within the given
period become unavailable and cannot send data to the surveillance system.
If you exceed the grace period before you activate a license, the license is not lost. You can activate
the license as usual.
Configuration, added cameras, and other settings are not removed from the Management Application
if a license is activated too late.
Register SLC
If you do not have your SLC, contact your vendor.
1. Go to the Milestone website at www.milestonesys.com, and click the Software registration link
in the menu.
2. Log in to the Software Registration Service Center with your user name (e-mail address) and
password.
Tip: If you have not used the Software Registration Service Center before, click t he New to
the system? link, and follow the instructions for registering yourself as a user, then log into the
Software Registration Service Center by using your registered user name and password.
3. In the Software Registration Service Center, click the Add SLC link.
4. Type your SLC. Confirm that you want to add the SLC to your account, and then click OK.
5. Once your SLC has been added, click the Main menu link.
6. Click the Logout link to log out of the Software Registration Service Center.
Tip: If you plan to use online activation when you activate your licenses, make sure you use
the same user name (e-mail address) and password that you used when you registered the
SLC.
www.milestonesys.com
36
Licenses
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Activate License - Online
Precondition
Add at least one device (see "The Add Hardware Devices wizard" on page 44) to your XProtect
Professional system.
This starts the grace period of 30 days for the device in question. You must activate a license for the
device before the end of the grace period.
Activate a license
On the Management Application's toolbar, click File, Activate License Online.
1. Specify how many licenses you want for each device, and then click OK.
2. Next:
o
If you are an existing user, enter your user name and password to log into the Software
Registration Service Center.
o
If you are a new user, click the Create new user... link to set up a new user account in the
Software Registration Service Center and then follow the registration procedure. If you
have not yet registered your SLC, you must do so, see earlier.
3. When done, click Activate.
4. When your temporary license file (.lic) is successfully updated, click Close. Your license file
(.lic) is now updated and permanent. Updates are visible in your Hardware Device Summary
table.
Activate by using this process each time you add a new device.
If you receive an online activation error message
Under rare circumstances, you may receive one of the following error messages during online
activation. Should you receive one, the following list of Problems and What to do will help you identify
the problem:

Unable to access license server, Error activating license, License not allowed, Feature not
registered, Feature already in use, Failed to login.
o
Problem: Online activation was not possible, either due to a problem on the online
activation server itself, a problem with your connection to the online activation server, or to
a problem with the specified information (such as username or password).
o
What to do: Contact Milestone Support ([email protected]), who will investigate
the issue for you. If activation has already taken place on another system, activation
should not be necessary, as another system is already running with your activated
licenses. If you believe that this is wrong, contact Milestone Support
([email protected]), who will investigate the issue for you.
Activate License - Offline
Precondition
Add at least one device (see "The Add Hardware Devices wizard" on page 44) to your XProtect
Professional system.
www.milestonesys.com
37
Licenses
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
This starts the grace period of 30 days for the device in question. You must activate a license for the
device before the end of the grace period.
Step 1: Export license for activation (offline)
To export a license file with your currently added devices for activation, do the following:
1. On the Management Application's toolbar, click File, Manage License Offline, Export
License for Activation.
2. Specify a file name and a location for the license request (.lrq) file (automatically generated by
XProtect Professional). If your computer does not have internet access, use external,
removable data storage.
3. If needed, move the external data storage with the .lrq file to a computer with internet access.
Open an internet browser and go to Milestone's website at www.milestonesys.com. Select
Software Registration from the top menu. If you have used the Software Registration Service
Center before, log in with your e-mail and password. Otherwise, click New to the System? to
create a new user account and register your SLC.
1. Under Current SLCs, select the SLC.
2.
In the menu for SLC properties, use the Upload LRQ function to upload the generated .lrq
file.
4. Next, you receive the updated permanent license file (.lic) from Milestone via e-mail. Save it to
a location accessible from the Management Application.
Step 2: Import license (offline)
When you have received your permanent license file (.lic) from Milestone via e-mail and saved it to a
location accessible from the Management Application, you are ready to import it to your surveillance
system.
Tip: The following procedure is also used for changing SLC/licenses.
1. On the Management Application's toolbar, click File, Manage License Offline, Import
License, and select your saved .lic file to import it.
2. When the permanent license file is successfully imported, click OK.
Activate by using both step 1 and 2 in this process each time you add a new device.
Change SLC
If you need to change your SLC and you have received a new permanent license file (.lic) from
Milestone via e-mail and saved it to a location accessible from the Management Application, you are
ready to import it to your surveillance system.
1. On the Management Application's toolbar, click File, Manage License Offline, Import
License, and select your saved .lic file to import it.
2. When the new permanent license file is successfully imported, click OK.
www.milestonesys.com
38
Licenses
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
About replacing cameras
You can replace a camera that is licensed in XProtect Professional and have the new camera
activated and licensed instead. The total number of purchased device channels corresponds to the
total number of cameras that can run on the surveillance system simultaneously. If you remove a
camera from a recording server, you also free a license.
When you replace a camera, you must use the Management Application Replace Hardware Device
wizard (see "About the Replace Hardware Device wizard" on page 71) to map all relevant databases
of cameras, microphones, inputs, outputs, etc. Remember to activate the license once you are
finished.
www.milestonesys.com
39
Licenses
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Application settings
About privacy options
To help Milestone improve the usability and customer experience of XProtect Professional, you were
presented with the option Sign me up for the Customer Experience Improvement Program during
the installation of XProtect Professional.

If you declined, no software contributing statistical information is included in your XProtect
Professional installation.

If you accepted, a cookie issuing a Global Unique IDentifier (GUID) is included as part of your
XProtect Professional installation. As a result, XProtect Professional anonymously collects
relevant information about your installation and operation of XProtect Professional at regular
intervals. See the following for a detailed list of what is collected.
Also, if you accepted, a setting makes it possible to turn the collection of information off or on as
needed.
What information is collected from XProtect Professional?
No personal information about the equipment (PC) XProtect Professional is installed on, or about any
of the recordings you make.
This is collected:

The country where the software is installed

Hardware platform information, such as operating system version, Microsoft .NET framework
version, CPU type, and memory size

XProtect Professional version information

Information about the number, and type of hardware devices (cameras) used with XProtect
Professional

Information on which XProtect Professional features are used, and how often they are used

Information about which XProtect Professional menus and buttons are activated, and how
often they are used

Execution time for specific operations in your XProtect Professional installation

Error reports and exceptions generated by your XProtect Professional installation.
When is information collected from XProtect Professional?
Information is only collected when the Management Application or Smart Client is active.
You can disable the automatic collection of information by either removing XProtect Professional or by
disabling it using the Management Application (see earlier for details on how).
www.milestonesys.com
40
Application settings
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
How does Milestone protect collected information?
Milestone is committed to protecting the security of the information collected from XProtect
Professional installations.
Milestone has implemented security measures to help protect against the loss and misuse of data
being collected.
The information is stored in a secure server environment that uses firewall and other advanced
technologies to prevent interference or unauthorized access from outside intruders.
Disable information collection
1. In the Management Application toolbar, click Help, Privacy Options.
2. On the Privacy Options tab, clear the Yes, I would like to improve Milestone XProtect
Professional information collection check box.
3. Click OK.
Change/restore Management Application behavior
You can change the way the Management Application behaves. For example, by default, the
Management Application asks you to confirm many of your actions. If you feel this is not necessary,
you can change the behavior of the Management Application so it will not ask you again.
1. In the Management Application's menu bar, select Application Settings > Application
Behavior...
2. For each action, you can now select how the Management Application should behave.
Examples:
o
When you attempt to delete a hardware device, should the Management Application ask
you to confirm that you want to delete the hardware device, or should it delete the
hardware device straight away without asking?
o
You can use a maximum of 64 cameras at a time on a single XProtect Professional server.
If you add more than 64, should the Management Application warn you or not?
Note that selectable behavior may vary, depending on the type of action.
3. Click OK.
4. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Tip: You can quickly restore default settings by clicking the button below the behavior list.
Change language
The Management Application is available in several languages. To change the language of the
Management Application:
www.milestonesys.com
41
Application settings
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
1. Go to the Management Application's menu bar and select Application Settings and then
Application Behavior. In the dialog, click Language. This will display a drop down list that
contains the available languages for the Management Application.
2. Select the relevant language that you want to switch to and then click OK.
The Management Application must be restarted for the change of language to take effect.
Analytics events settings
To change Analytic Events (see "Overview of events and output" on page 125) settings in the
Management Application, go to the Management Application's menu bar and select Application
Settings and then Application Behavior. In the dialog, click Analytics Events Settings and fill in the
properties (see "Analytics event settings (for alarms) (properties)" on page 42).
Analytics event settings (for alarms) (properties)
Name
Description
Enabled
Lets you enable the analytics event feature
Specify the port used by this service. Default port is 9090.
Make sure that relevant VCA tool providers also use this port
number. If you change the port number, make sure that VCA tool
providers change their port number accordingly.
Port
Specify whether events from all IP addresses/host names are
accepted, or only events from IP addresses/host names specified in
a list—see the following.
All network addresses or
Specified network addresses
In the Address list specify a list of trusted IP addresses/host names
that you want this service to recognize. The list is used to filter
incoming data so that only events from certain IP addresses/host
names are allowed. Both Domain Name System (DNS) and IPv4
address formats can be used in the list.
You have two ways of adding addresses to the list: either manually
or by importing an external list of addresses.
Manual entering: type the required IP address/host name in the
address list. Repeat for each required address.
Import
Click the Import... button to browse for the required external list of
addresses. To import an external list, the list must be saved in a .txt
file format and each IP address or host name must appear on a
separate line in the file. Windows’ simple text editor Microsoft
Notepad is an excellent tool for creating such .txt files.
Event Server settings
Event Server settings let you configure general settings for alarms and specify the following:
www.milestonesys.com
42
Application settings
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Keep closed alarms for
Specify the number of days for which to keep closed alarms, i.e.
alarms in the states Closed, Ignore, and Reject. This is normally set
to a low number, such as 3 days, but you can define any number up
to 99999 days, server space permitting. The value 0 can be used to
indicate keep closed alarms indefinitely, server space permitting.
Specify the number of days for which to keep all other alarms, i.e.
alarms not in the states Closed, Ignore, and Reject. This is normally
set to a somewhat higher number, such as 30 days, but you can
define any number up to 99999 days, server space permitting. The
value 0 can be used to indicate keep all other alarms indefinitely,
server space permitting.
Keep all other alarms for
IMPORTANT: Alarms often have associated video
recordings. While the alarm information itself is stored on
the event server, the associated video recordings are
fetched from the relevant surveillance system server when
users wish to view them. Therefore, if it is vital to have
access to video recordings from all your alarms, make sure
that video recordings from relevant cameras are stored on
relevant surveillance system servers for at least as long as
you intend to keep alarms on the event server.
Keep logs for
Specify the number of days for which to keep the Alarms log.
Default is 30 days. The value of 0 will indicate keep log indefinitely
(server space permitting).
Log server communication
Specify if you want to save a separate log of server communication
in addition to the regular log for the number of days specified.
www.milestonesys.com
43
Application settings
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Wizards
The Add Hardware Devices wizard
You add cameras and other hardware devices, such as video encoders, to your XProtect Professional
system through the Add Hardware Devices... wizard. If microphones or speakers are attached to a
hardware device, they are automatically added as well.
You can use up to 64 cameras per XProtect Professional server. Note that, if required, it is possible to
add more cameras than you are allowed to use. If you use video encoder devices on your system,
bear in mind that many video encoder devices have more than one camera connected to them. For
example, a fully used four-port video encoder will count as four cameras.
The wizard offers you four different ways of adding cameras:
Name
Description
Scans your network for relevant hardware devices, and helps you
quickly add them to your system.
Express (recommended)
To use the Express method, your XProtect Professional server and
your cameras must be on the same layer 2 network, that is a
network where all servers, cameras, etc. can communicate without
the need for a router.
See Add Hardware Devices wizard - Express (see "Express" on
page 45).
Advanced
Scans your network for relevant hardware devices based on your
specifications regarding required IP ranges, discovery methods,
drivers, and device user names and passwords.
See Add Hardware Devices wizard - Advanced (see "Advanced" on
page 47).
Specify details about each hardware device separately.
Manual
A good choice if you only want to add a few hardware devices, and
you know their IP addresses, required user names and passwords,
etc.
See Add Hardware Devices wizard - Manual (see "Manual" on page
49).
Import from CSV file
www.milestonesys.com
Import data about cameras as comma-separated values from a file.
An effective method if you are setting up several systems.
See Add Hardware Devices Wizard - Import from CSV File (see
"Import from CSV file" on page 51).
44
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Express
The Express option scans your network for relevant hardware devices, and helps you quickly add
them to your system. With the Express option, the wizard only scans for hardware devices supporting
device discovery, and only on the part of your network (subnet) where the XProtect Professional
server itself is located.
To use the Express method, your XProtect Professional server and your cameras must be on the
same layer 2 network; that is a network where all servers, cameras, etc. can communicate without
the need for a router. The reason for this is that device discovery relies on direct communication
between the XProtect Professional server and the cameras. If you know that routers are used on your
network, use the advanced (on page 47) or manual (on page 49) method instead.
When using the Express option, the wizard is divided into these pages:

Hardware detection and verification (on page 45)

Overview and names (on page 46)
What is device discovery? Device discovery is a method with which hardware devices make
information about themselves available on the network. Based on such information, XProtect
Professional can quickly recognize relevant hardware devices, such as cameras and video encoders,
and include them in the scan.
Hardware detection and verification
The wizard automatically scans your network for hardware devices, and lists devices real-time as they
are detected. All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue
background cannot be edited.
Wait until the scan is complete. If the scan takes very long, you can stop it with the Stop Scan button.
The wizard will remember any devices detected up to that point.
When the scan is complete:
1. Go through the list of detected hardware devices to see if it contains unwanted devices. If it
does, clear the check box in the Use column for each unwanted device.
2. If any hardware devices are missing from the list, verify that the missing hardware devices
support device discovery, verify that they are working and connected to the same part of the
network as the XProtect Professional server, then click the Rescan button. If hardware devices
detected in the first scan cannot be detected in the second scan, the wizard will still remember
them.
3. In the User name column, select or type the user name required to access the administrator
account on each hardware device. The administrator account gives full access, and XProtect
Professional is going to need that for each hardware device. Many organizations use the
hardware device manufacturer's default user names for their hardware devices. If that is the
case in your organization, select <default> (do not type a manufacturer's default user name as
this can be a source of error; trust that XProtect Professional will know the manufacturer's
default user name). Other typical user names, such as admin or root are also selectable from
the list. If requiring a user name which is not on the list, simply type the required user name.
Tip: User names you type yourself will subsequently be added to the list, so you can easily
select them later.
www.milestonesys.com
45
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
4. In the Password column, specify the password required to access the administrator account on
each hardware device. The administrator account gives full access, and XProtect Professional
is going to need that for each hardware device. If the same password is used for all the
hardware devices, use the Password field below the list, then click the Set on All button (which
becomes available when you specify a password in the field).
Tip: If you are in doubt about which user name/password to use, ask yourself: Have I
previously used a web page to connect to the hardware device and view video? While I did
this, was I also able to configure camera settings, such as resolution, etc.? If you can answer
yes to both questions, you were probably using the hardware device’s administrator account,
in which case you will also know the user name/password. If still in doubt, look in the XProtect
Device Pack release notes.
5. When you have specified a password for all hardware devices on the list (except unwanted
devices), click Next. This will verify that all passwords are correct, and mark each device in the
Verified column. If any hardware devices cannot be verified, make sure you have specified the
correct passwords.
6. Click Next.The next wizard page provides you with an overview where you can select names
for cameras, etc.
Overview and names
The wizard provides you with a detailed overview, listing each camera and microphone/speaker
attached to the hardware devices. All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a
light blue background cannot be edited.

All cameras, etc. are by default enabled (selected in the Enable column). This means that they
can communicate with XProtect Professional. If required, you can disable individual cameras
or microphones/speaker, to prevent them from communicating with XProtect Professional.

All cameras, etc. get automatically generated names based on their type plus a number
(examples: Camera 1, Microphone 26). Such names are shown in the Name column. If
required, you change names manually, or select another name format in the Auto-generated
name format list.
Name
Device type + number
Custom text - Device type +
number
Address - Device type +
number
www.milestonesys.com
Description
The default name format.
Example: Camera 1.
Names will consist of a text of your choice (specified in the Custom
text field) followed by a dash, type information and a number.
Example: Airport Security - Camera 1
Names will consist of the hardware device address followed by a
dash, type information and a number.
Example: 10.10.123.73 - Camera 1
46
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Custom text - Address Device type + number
Names will consist of a text of your choice (specified in the Custom
text field) followed by a dash, then the hardware device address
followed by a dash, type information and a number.
Example: Airport Security - 10.10.123.73 - Camera 1
Names will consist of hardware device model information followed
Hardware model - Device type by a dash, type information and a number.
+ number
Example: Axis P1311 - Camera 1
Names will consist of hardware device model information followed
Hardware model - Custom text by a dash, then a text of your choice (specified in the Custom text
field), a dash, type information and a number.
- Device type + number
Example: Axis P1311 - Airport Security - Camera 1
Hardware model - Address Device type + number
Names will consist of hardware device model information followed
by a dash, then the hardware device address, a dash, type
information and a number.
Example: Axis P1311 - 10.10.123.73 - Camera 1
Tip: Need other name formats? Remember you can change names manually by overwriting all or
parts of them in the Name column. Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
When done, click Finish.
Advanced
The Advanced option scans your network for relevant hardware devices based on your specifications
regarding required IP ranges, discovery methods, drivers, and device user names and passwords.
When using the Advanced option, the wizard is divided into these pages:

Device discovery, IP ranges, drivers and authentication (see "IP ranges, drivers and
authentication" on page 47)

Detected and verified hardware devices (on page 49)

Overview and names (on page 46)
IP ranges, drivers and authentication
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited.
First specify which IP address ranges you want to scan. By default, the wizard suggests scanning the
subnet on which the XProtect Professional server is located. To add additional ranges, or edit existing
ones, click the Add or Edit button as required, then specify:
Name
Description
Start address
Specify the first IP address in the required range.
www.milestonesys.com
47
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
End address
Specify the last IP address in the required range. The start and end
IP address may be identical, allowing you to only scan for a single
hardware device.
Use TCP port scanning
If scanning for hardware devices which support TCP/HTTP—most
devices do—keep the check box selected.
Perform scanning on port
number(s)
Port number(s) on which to scan. If you want to scan on more than
one port number, separate them by commas (example: 80,88,90). If
you want to scan on a range of port numbers, separate the first and
last port number in the range by a colon (example: 80:90 will scan
on all ports from 80 up to and including 90). You can also combine
individual port numbers and ranges (example: 77,80:90,97,99).
Default is port 80. If your hardware devices are located behind a
NAT-enabled router or a firewall, you may need to specify a
different port number. When this is the case, also remember to
configure the router/firewall so it maps the port and IP addresses
used by the hardware devices.
Then select which drivers to use when scanning. By default, XProtect Professional will use all known
drivers. If your organization only uses certain hardware device makes and/or models, you can achieve
faster scanning by selecting only the drives required for those hardware devices. If that is the case,
click Select..., then in the Select Drivers to Use for IP Scan, select the drivers you want to use when
scanning.
Tip: The list of drivers is typically very long, and by default all drivers are selected. With the Select All
and Clear All buttons, you can avoid having to select/clear all check boxes manually.
Next add user name/password combinations required to access the administrator account on each of
your hardware devices. The administrator account gives full access, and XProtect Professional will
need that for each hardware device.
User name
User name for the hardware device's administrator account. Many
organizations use the hardware device manufacturer's default user
names for their hardware devices. If that is the case in your
organization, select <default> (do not type a manufacturer's default
user name as this can be a source of error; trust that XProtect
Professional will know the manufacturer's default user name). Other
typical user names, such as admin or root are also selectable from
the list. If you want a user name which is not on the list, simply type
a new user name.
Tip: User names you enter will subsequently be added to the list,
so you can easily select them later.
www.milestonesys.com
48
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Password required to access the administrator account. A few
hardware devices do not require user name/password for access; if
such hardware devices are used in your organization, you can
leave the field blank.
Password
Tip: If you are in doubt about which user name/password to use,
ask yourself: Have I previously used a web page to connect to the
hardware device and view video? While I did this, was I also able to
configure camera settings, such as resolution, etc.? If you can
answer yes to both questions, you were probably using the
hardware device’s administrator account, in which case you will
also know the user name/password. If still in doubt, look in the
XProtect Device Pack release notes.
Click to add user a name/password combination.
When ready, click Next.
Detected and verified hardware devices
The wizard automatically scans your network for hardware devices, and lists devices real-time as they
are detected. All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue
background cannot be edited.
Wait until the scan is complete. If the scan takes very long, you can stop it with the Stop Scan button;
the wizard will remember any devices detected up to that point.
When the scan is complete:
1. Go through the list of detected hardware devices to see if it contains unwanted devices. If it
does, clear the check box in the Use column for each unwanted device.
2. If any hardware devices are missing from the list, verify that the missing hardware devices are
working and that they are located within the specified IP address ranges, then click the
Rescan button. If hardware devices detected in the first scan cannot be detected in the
second scan, the wizard will still remember them.
3. For all detected hardware devices, XProtect Professional has verified that user
names/passwords are correct, and marked each device in the Verified column. If any
hardware devices could not be verified, make sure you have specified the correct user
names/passwords.
4. Click Next.The next wizard page provides you with an overview where you can select names
for cameras, etc.
Manual
The Manual option lets you specify details about each hardware device separately. A good choice if
you only want to add a few hardware devices, and you know their IP addresses, required user names
and passwords, etc.
When using the Manual option, the wizard is divided into these pages:

Hardware device information, driver selection and verification (see "Information, driver
selection and verification" on page 50)

Overview and names (on page 46)
www.milestonesys.com
49
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Information, driver selection and verification
Specify information about each hardware device you want to add. All properties on a white
background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be edited.
Name
Description
Use
Indicates that you want to include the hardware device in the scan.
To begin with, leave the box cleared. Provided XProtect
Professional can find a suitable driver for the hardware device, the
Use box will automatically be selected later.
Address
IP address or host name of the hardware device.
Port
Port number on which to scan. The default is port 80. If a hardware
device is located behind a NAT-enabled router or a firewall, you
may need to specify a different port number. When this is the case,
also remember to configure the router/firewall so it maps the port
and IP address used by the hardware device.
User name
User name for the hardware device's administrator account. Many
organizations use the hardware device manufacturer's default user
names for their hardware devices. If that is the case in your
organization, select <default> (do not type a manufacturer's default
user name as this can be a source of error; trust that XProtect
Professional will know the manufacturer's default user name). Other
typical user names, such as admin or root are also selectable from
the list. If you want a user name which is not on the list, simply type
a new user name.
Tip: User names you enter will subsequently be added to the list,
so you can easily select them later.
Password required to access the administrator account. A few
hardware devices do not require user name/password for access; if
such hardware devices are used in your organization, you can
leave the field blank.
Password
Hardware Driver
www.milestonesys.com
Tip: If you are in doubt about which user name/password to use,
ask yourself: Have I previously used a web page to connect to the
hardware device and view video? While I did this, was I also able to
configure camera settings, such as resolution, etc.? If you can
answer yes to both questions, you were probably using the
hardware device’s administrator account, in which case you will
also know the user name/password. If still in doubt, look in the
XProtect Device Pack release notes.
Driver to use with the hardware device. If the Auto-detect option is
selected, the hardware the XProtect Professional can find the
relevant driver automatically.
50
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Verified
Indicates whether access to the hardware device has been verified.
Hardware devices for which you have specified correct address,
port, user name and password will be verified immediately if you
use the auto-detect method. If you select drivers manually, access
will be verified once you click Next.
Tip: To save time, when using the Auto-detect feature, you can
enter information about other devices while the auto-detection is in
progress.
Import from CSV file
This option lets you import data about hardware devices and cameras as comma-separated values
(CSV) (see "CSV file format and requirements" on page 52) from a file; a highly effective method if
setting up several similar systems.
First select whether cameras and the XProtect Professional server is online (that is having working
network connections) or offline.
Then point to the CSV file, and click Next.
Add Hardware Devices wizard - Import from CSV File - example of CSV
file
The following is an example of a CSV file for use when cameras and server are online. It includes the
mandatory parameters HardwareAddress and HardwarePort as well as the optional parameters
HardwarePassword and CameraName.
Note that some of the hardware devices in the example have more than one camera attached. In the
example, we therefore use four versions of the CameraName parameter (CameraName1,
CameraName2, etc.). Had all the hardware devices only had one camera attached each, we would
only have needed CameraName1. See Add Hardware Devices Wizard - Import from CSV File (see
"Import from CSV file" on page 51) for detailed descriptions of all mandatory and optional parameters.
HardwareAddress;HardwarePort;HardwarePassword;CameraName1;CameraName2
;CameraName3;CameraName4
192.168.200.220;80;T0P53cr3T;Reception;;;
192.168.200.221;80;tOpSeCrEt;Staircase A;Fire Exit;Staircase B;Lobby
192.168.200.222;80;TOP53CR3T;Car Park East;;;
192.168.200.223;80;topZKRID;Car Park West;;;
192.168.200.224;80;TopsEcreT;Street Exit;Street Entrance;Station
Exit;Station Entrance
192.168.200.225;80;tercespot;Production Level 2;;;
192.168.200.226;80;TOpsECreT;Production Level 3;;;
192.168.200.227;80;top$!cr!t;Storage Room;;;
192.168.200.228;80;ttooppssecrett;Canteen;;;
www.milestonesys.com
51
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
192.168.200.229;80;ecsotpert;Admin Office;;;
192.168.200.230;80;SECRETtop;Annex;;;
192.168.200.231;80;optescter;VIP Parking;;;
192.168.200.232;80;scteropte;Workshop;;;
192.168.200.233;80;scopetetr;Alleyway;;;
192.168.200.234;80;optescter;Demo Room;;;
192.168.200.235;80;oPtEscEr;Meeting Room 1;Meeting Room 2;Meeting
Room3;Meeting Room 4
CSV file format and requirements
The CSV file must have a header line (determining what each value on the subsequent lines is about),
and subsequent lines must each contain information about one hardware device only.A minimum of
information is always required for each hardware device:
Name
Description
HardwareOldMacAddress
The MAC address of the hardware device used in the template
configuration. Required format: 12 hex characters without spaces or
six groups of two hex characters separated with dashes (-) or
colons (:).
HardwreNewMacAddress
The MAC address of the new hardware device to be used in the
real configuration. Required format: 12 hex characters without
spaces or six groups of two hex characters separated with dashes
(-) or colons (:).
HardwareAddress
IP address of the hardware device.
User name for hardware device's administrator account.
HardwareUsername
www.milestonesys.com
In the extremely rare cases where a particular user name has
previously been required for a device, but you now want the user
name to be <blank>, you cannot use the CSV file to specify
<blank>. The reason is that no information is interpreted as "leave
the user name as it currently is." If you need the new user name to
be <blank>, you should not change it through the CCV file. Instead,
change it as part of the hardware device's network, device type and
license properties after you have imported the other changes
through the CSV file.
52
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Password for hardware device's administrator account.
HardwarePassword
In the extremely rare cases where a particular password has
previously been required for a device, but you now want the
password to be <blank>, you cannot use the CSV file to specify
<blank>. The reason is that no information is interpreted as "œleave
the password as it currently is." If you need the new password to be
<blank>, you should not change it through the CSV file. Instead,
change it as part of the hardware device's network, device type and
license properties after you have imported the other changes
through the CSV file.
HardwareDeviceName
Name of the hardware device. Name must unique, and must not
contain any of the following special characters: < > & ' " \ / : *
? | [ ]
HardwareDriverID
If cameras and server are offline—specify a HardwareDriverID for
each hardware device you want to add. Example: ACTi ACD-2100
105 indicates that you should use 105 as the ID if adding an ACTi
ACD-2100 hardware device.
CameraName[number]
Name of the camera. Must appear as CameraName1,
CameraName2, etc. in the header line since a hardware device can
potentially have more than one camera attached. Names must be
unique, and must not contain any of the following special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
CameraShortcut[number]
Number for keyboard shortcut access to the camera in the Smart
Client. Must appear as CameraShortcut1, CameraShortcut2, etc. in
the header line since a hardware device can potentially have more
than one camera attached. A camera shortcut number must not
contain any letters or special characters, and must not be longer
than eight digits.
Lets you specify whether to generate a new GUID for a camera; this
is especially relevant if using a cloned configuration (see "Export
and import management application configuration" on page 204) as
GenerateNewCameraGuid[opti your template, since all GUIDs are removed from cloned
onal number]
configurations. If specified as, for example,
GenerateNewCameraGuid1, information relates to a specific
camera, otherwise to all cameras attached to the hardware device.
Any character means "yes, generate a new GUID."•
PreBufferLength[optional
number]
Required length (in seconds) of pre-recording. If specified as, for
example, PreBufferLength1, information relates to a specific
camera, otherwise to all cameras attached to the hardware device.
PostBufferLength[optional
number]
Required length (in seconds) of post-recording. If specified as, for
example, PostBufferLength1, information relates to a specific
camera, otherwise to all cameras attached to the hardware device.
RecordingPath[optional
number]
Path to the folder in which a camera's database should be stored. If
specified as, for example, RecordingPath1, information relates to a
specific camera, otherwise to all cameras attached to the hardware
device.
www.milestonesys.com
53
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Path to the folder in which the camera's archived (see "About
archiving" on page 143) recordings should be stored. Remember
that an archiving path is only relevant if not using dynamic paths for
ArchivePath[optional number]
archiving (see "Dynamic path selection" on page 86). If specified
as, for example, ArchivePath1, information relates to a specific
camera, otherwise to all cameras attached to the hardware device.
OldRecordingsNewPath[optio
nal number]
Lets you specify what to do with old recordings in case
RecordingPath or ArchivePath have been changed. If this
parameter is not specified, default behavior is Leave (see the
following). If specified as, for example, OldRecordingsNewPath1,
information relates to a specific camera, otherwise to all cameras
attached to the hardware device. Valid options are: Delete (deletes
old recordings), Leave (leaves old recordings for offline
investigation but unavailable for online system), or Move (moves
old recordings to archive).
Lets you specify what to do with old recordings in case a new MAC
address has been specified for the hardware device. If this
parameter is not specified, default behavior is Leave (see the
following). If specified as, for example, OldrecordingsNewMac1,
OldRecordingsNewMac[option information relates to a specific camera, otherwise to all cameras
al number]
attached to the hardware device. Valid options are: Delete (deletes
old recordings), Leave (leaves old recordings for offline
investigation but unavailable for online system), or Inherit (renames
all old recording folders according to the new MAC address, thus
making them available for the online system).
RetentionTime[optional
number]
Required retention time (in minutes). Remember that retention time
is the total of recording time plus archiving time. If specified as, for
example, RetentionTime1, information relates to a specific camera,
otherwise to all cameras attached to the hardware device.
Required MJPEG live frame rate (in number of frames; depending
on what has been configured on the camera, it will then know
MjpegLiveFrameRate[optional
whether it is frames per second, minute, or hour). If specified as, for
number]
example, MjpegLiveFrameRate1, information relates to a specific
camera, otherwise to all cameras attached to the hardware device.
MotionSensitivity[optional
number]
A value between 0-256; corresponds to using the Sensitivity slider
when configuring motion detection settings in the Management
Application. If specified as, for example, MotionSensitivity1,
information relates to a specific camera, otherwise to all cameras
attached to the hardware device.
Required MJPEG recording frame rate (in number of frames;
depending on what has been configured on the camera, it will then
know whether it is frames per second, minute, or hour). If you need
MjpegRecordingFrameRate[op
to specify a value which includes a decimal separator, use the full
tional number]
stop character (example: 7.62). If specified as, for example,
MjpegRecordingFrameRate1, information relates to a specific
camera, otherwise to all cameras attached to the hardware device.
www.milestonesys.com
54
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
A value between 0-10000; corresponds to using the Motion slider
when configuring motion detection settings in the Management
MotionDetectionThreshold[opt
Application. If specified as, for example,
ional number]
MotionDetectionThreshold1, information relates to a specific
camera, otherwise to all cameras attached to the hardware device.
MotionDetectionInterval[optio
nal number]
Lets you specify how often motion detection analysis should be
carried out on video from the camera. Specified in milliseconds. The
interval is applied regardless of the camera's frame rate settings. If
specified as, for example, MotionDetectionInterval1, information
relates to a specific camera, otherwise to all cameras attached to
the hardware device.
ServerName
Name with which the XProtect Professional will appear when listed
in clients. Name must be unique, and must not contain any of the
following special characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
ServerPort
Port number to use for communication between the XProtect
Professional server and clients.
OnlineVerification
If this parameter is used, all online hardware devices found using
HardwareOldMacAddress are updated. All other hardware
devices are not updated. Any character means "yes, use online
verification.
Existing configuration parameters that are not specified in CSV file will remain unchanged. If a
parameter value for an individual camera in the CSV file is empty, the existing parameter value will
remain unchanged on that camera.
Most system integrators store hardware device information in spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel, from
which they can save the information as comma-separated values in a CSV file. These examples show
hardware information in Excel ( 1 ) and when exported to a CSV file ( 2 ); note the header lines:
Whichever method is used, the following applies:

The first line of the CSV file must contain the headers, and subsequent lines must contain
information about one hardware device each

Separators can be commas, semicolons or tabs, but cannot be mixed

All lines must contain valid values—pay special attention to the fact that camera names, user
names, etc. must be unique, and must not contain any of the following special characters: < >
& ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]

There is no fixed order of values, and optional parameters can be omitted entirely

Boolean fields are considered true unless set to 0, false or no

Lines containing only separators are ignored

Empty lines are ignored
Even though the CSV file format is generally ASCII only, Unicode identifiers are allowed; even
without Unicode identifiers, the entire file or even individual characters are allowed to be
Unicode strings
www.milestonesys.com
55
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
If you need to include separator characters in a value—for example if a camera name is Reception;
Camera 1—you can encapsulate the value in quotes to indicate that the separator should not be
interpreted as separating values in the file. Such quote-encapsulated values are interpreted as they
appear. If a separator, a quote or a space is needed in a value, the whole value has to be
encapsulated in quotes. Leading and trailing spaces outside the quote-encapsulated value are
removed, while spaces inside the quote-encapsulated value are maintained. No characters (except
spaces) are allowed outside the quote-encapsulated value. A double quote inside a quoteencapsulated value is interpreted as a single quote. Nested quotes (quotes inside quotes) are not
allowed.
Some examples (using semicolon as the separator):

"camera"; is interpreted as camera

"cam;""era"; is interpreted as cam;"era

"""camera"""; is interpreted as "camera"

""; is interpreted as an empty string

...; " cam"" era " ;... is interpreted as | cam" era | (where the character | is not part of the
interpretation but only used to show the start and end of the interpretation)

""camera; is not valid as there are characters outside the quote-encapsulated value

"cam" "era"; is not valid as the two quotes are separated with a space and quotes cannot be
nested

"cam"er"a"; is not valid as you cannot nest quotes

cam"era"; is not valid as there are characters outside the quotes
The Configure Video and Recording wizard
The Configure Video and Recording wizard helps you quickly configure your cameras' video and
recording properties.
Pages in this wizard:
Video settings and preview...................................................................... 56
Online schedule ....................................................................................... 57
Live and recording settings Motion-JPEG cameras ................................ 58
Live and recording settings MPEG cameras ........................................... 60
Drive selection ......................................................................................... 63
Recording and archiving settings ............................................................ 64
Video settings and preview
Video settings typically let you control bandwidth, brightness, compression, contrast, resolution,
rotation, etc.
www.milestonesys.com
56
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited.
Use the list in the left side of the wizard window to select a camera and adjust its video settings. Then
select the next camera and adjust its settings, and so on. Video settings are to a large extent cameraspecific, and must therefore be configured individually for each camera.
Click Open Settings Dialog to configure the camera's settings in a separate dialog.
When you change video settings, they are applied immediately. This means that—for most cameras—
you are immediately able to see the effect of your settings in a preview image. However, it also means
that you cannot undo your changes by exiting the wizard.
For cameras set to use the video formats MPEG or H.264, you are typically able to select which live
frame rate to use for the camera.
Video settings may feature an Include Date and Time setting. If set to Yes, date and time from the
camera will be included in video. Note, however, that cameras are separate units which may have
separate timing devices, power supplies, etc. Camera time and XProtect Professional system time
may therefore not correspond fully, and this may occasionally lead to confusion. As all frames are
time-stamped by XProtect Professional upon reception, and exact date and time information for each
image is already known, it is recommended that the setting is set to No.
Tip: For consistent time synchronization, you may—if supported by the camera—automatically
synchronize camera and system time through a time server.
Online schedule
Specify when each camera should be online. An online camera is a camera that transfers video to the
XProtect Professional server for live viewing and further processing. The fact that a camera is online
will not in itself mean that video from the camera is recorded (recording settings are configured on one
of the wizard's next pages).
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited.
By default, cameras added to XProtect Professional will automatically be online (Always on), and you
will only need to modify their online schedules if you require cameras to be online only at specific
times or events. Note, however, that this default may be changed as part of the scheduling options (on
page 153).
For each camera, you are initially able to select between two online schedules:

Always on: The camera is always online.

Always off: The camera is never online.
If these two options are too simple for your needs, use the Create / Edit... button to specify online
schedules according to your needs, and then select these schedules for your cameras. This way, you
can specify whether cameras should be online within specific periods of time, or whether they should
start and stop transferring video when specific events occur within specific periods of time.
The template can help you configure similar properties quickly. For example, if you have 20 cameras
and you want a particular frame rate on all of them, you can simply enter it once in the template, and
then apply the template to the 20 cameras.
www.milestonesys.com
57
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Apply Template
Select which cameras you want to apply the template for. You then
use one of the two Set buttons to actually apply the template.
Tip: To select all cameras in the list, click the Select All button.
Select All
Click button to select all cameras in the Apply Template column.
Clear All
Click button to clear all selections in the Apply Template column.
Apply template on selected
cameras
Lets you apply the value from the template to selected cameras.
Live and recording settings Motion-JPEG cameras
This wizard page only appears if one or more of your cameras use the MJPEG video format.
Specify which frame rates to use for each camera. You can also select pre- and post-recording,
allowing you to store recordings from periods preceding and following detected motion and/or
specified events.
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited.
Name
Description
Frame Rate
Required average frame rate for video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour).
Required average frame rate for live video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour).
Live Frame Rate
Recording Frame Rate
www.milestonesys.com
If the camera supports dual stream and dual stream is enabled, the
Live Frame Rate column will be read-only with the value Dual
streaming—which cannot be altered.
Required average frame rate for recorded video from the camera.
Select number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second,
minute or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
58
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Lets you select under which conditions video from the camera
should be recorded:

Always: Record whenever the camera is enabled (see
"General" on page 100) and scheduled to be online (see
"Online period" on page 155) (the latter allows for timebased recording).

Never: Never record. Live video will be displayed, but—
since no video is kept in the database—users will not be
able to play back video from the camera.

Motion Detection: Select this to record video in which
motion (see "Motion detection & exclude regions" on page
110) is detected. Unless post-recording (see the following)
is used, recording will stop immediately after the last motion
is detected.

Event: Select this to record video when an event occurs
and until another event occurs. Use of recording on event
requires that events have been defined, and that you select
start and stop events.
Record on
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you
can quickly do it: Use the Configure events list, located
below the other fields.

Pre-recording
www.milestonesys.com
Motion Detection & Event: Select this to record video in
which motion is detected, or when an event occurs and until
another event occurs. Remember to select start and stop
events in the neighboring columns.
You can store recordings from periods preceding detected motion
and/or start events. Select check box to enable this feature. Specify
the required number of seconds in the neighboring column.
How does pre- and post-recording work? XProtect Professional
receives video in a continuous stream from the camera whenever
the camera is enabled and scheduled to be online. This is what lets
you view live video, but it also means that XProtect Professional
can easily store received video for a number of seconds in its
memory (a.k.a. buffering). If it turns out that the buffered video is
needed for pre- or post-recording, it is automatically appended to
the recording. If not, it is simply discarded.
59
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Seconds [of pre-recording]
Specify the number of seconds for which you want to record video
from before recording start conditions (that is motion or start event)
are met. Usually, only some seconds of pre-recording is required,
but you can specify up to 65535 seconds of pre-recording,
corresponding to 18 hours, 12 minutes and 15 seconds. However, if
specifying a very long pre-recording time, you can potentially run
into a scenario where your pre-recording time spans scheduled or
unscheduled archiving (see "About archiving" on page 143) times.
That can be problematic since pre-recording does not work well
during archiving.
Post-recording
You can store recordings from periods following detected motion
and/or stop events. Select check box to enable this feature. Specify
the required number of seconds in the neighboring column.
Seconds [of post-recording]
Specify the number of seconds for which you want to record video
from after recording stop conditions (that is motion or stop event)
are met. Usually, only some seconds of post-recording is required,
but you can specify up to 65535 seconds of post-recording,
corresponding to 18 hours, 12 minutes and 15 seconds. However, if
specifying a very long post-recording time, you can potentially run
into a scenario where your post-recording time spans scheduled or
unscheduled archiving times. That can be problematic since postrecording does not work well during archiving.
The template can help you configure similar properties quickly. For example, if you have 20 cameras
and you want a particular frame rate on all of them, you can simply enter it once in the template, and
then apply the template to the 20 cameras.
Name
Description
Apply Template
Select which cameras you want to apply the template for. You then
use one of the two Set buttons to actually apply the template.
Tip: To select all cameras in the list, click the Select All button.
Select All
Click button to select all cameras in the Apply Template column.
Clear All
Click button to clear all selections in the Apply Template column.
Apply template on selected
cameras
Lets you apply the value from the template to selected cameras.
Live and recording settings MPEG cameras
This wizard page only appears if one or more of your cameras use the MPEG video format.
Specify which frame rate to use for each camera, and whether to record all frames or keyframes only.
You can also select pre- and post-recording, allowing you to store recordings from periods preceding
and following detected motion and/or specified events.
Note that all of the properties can also be specified individually for each camera.
www.milestonesys.com
60
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Required average frame rate for live video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour).
Live Frame Rate
Record Keyframe Only
If the camera supports dual stream and dual stream is enabled, the
Live Frame Rate column will be read-only with the value Dual
streaming—which cannot be altered.
Keyframes stored at specified intervals record the entire view of the
camera, whereas the following frames record only pixels that
change; this helps greatly reduce the size of MPEG files. Select the
check box if you only want to record keyframes.
Lets you select under which conditions video from the camera
should be recorded:

Always: Record whenever the camera is enabled (see
"General" on page 100) and scheduled to be online (see
"Online period" on page 155) (the latter allows for timebased recording).

Never: Never record. Live video will be displayed, but—
since no video is kept in the database—users will not be
able to play back video from the camera.

Motion Detection: Select this to record video in which
motion (see "Motion detection & exclude regions" on page
110) is detected. Unless post-recording (see the following)
is used, recording will stop immediately after the last motion
is detected.

Event: Select this to record video when an event occurs
and until another event occurs. Use of recording on event
requires that events have been defined, and that you select
start and stop events.
Record on
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you
can quickly do it: Use the Configure events list, located
below the other fields.

www.milestonesys.com
Motion Detection & Event: Select this to record video in
which motion is detected, or when an event occurs and until
another event occurs. Remember to select start and stop
events in the neighboring columns.
61
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Pre-recording
You can store recordings from periods preceding detected motion
and/or start events. Select check box to enable this feature. Specify
the required number of seconds in the neighboring column.
How does pre- and post-recording work? XProtect Professional
receives video in a continuous stream from the camera whenever
the camera is enabled and scheduled to be online. This is what lets
you view live video, but it also means that XProtect Professional
can easily store received video for a number of seconds in its
memory (a.k.a. buffering). If it turns out that the buffered video is
needed for pre- or post-recording, it is automatically appended to
the recording. If not, it is simply discarded.
Seconds [of pre-recording]
Specify the number of seconds for which you want to record video
from before recording start conditions (that is motion or start event)
are met. Usually, only some seconds of pre-recording is required,
but you can specify up to 65535 seconds of pre-recording,
corresponding to 18 hours, 12 minutes and 15 seconds. However, if
specifying a very long pre-recording time, you can potentially run
into a scenario where your pre-recording time spans scheduled or
unscheduled archiving (see "About archiving" on page 143) times.
That can be problematic since pre-recording does not work well
during archiving.
Post-recording
You can store recordings from periods following detected motion
and/or stop events. Select check box to enable this feature. Specify
the required number of seconds in the neighboring column.
Seconds [of post-recording]
Specify the number of seconds for which you want to record video
from after recording stop conditions (that is motion or stop event)
are met. Usually, only some seconds of post-recording is required,
but you can specify up to 65535 seconds of post-recording,
corresponding to 18 hours, 12 minutes and 15 seconds. However, if
specifying a very long post-recording time, you can potentially run
into a scenario where your post-recording time spans scheduled or
unscheduled archiving times. That can be problematic since postrecording does not work well during archiving.
The template can help you configure similar properties quickly. For example, if you have 20 cameras
and you want a particular frame rate on all of them, you can simply enter it once in the template, and
then apply the template to the 20 cameras.
Name
Description
Apply Template
Select which cameras you want to apply the template for. You then
use one of the two Set buttons to actually apply the template.
Tip: To select all cameras in the list, click the Select All button.
Select All
Click button to select all cameras in the Apply Template column.
Clear All
Click button to clear all selections in the Apply Template column.
Apply template on selected
cameras
Lets you apply the value from the template to selected cameras.
www.milestonesys.com
62
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Drive selection
Specify which drives you want to store cameras' recordings on. You can specify separate drives/paths
for recording and archiving (see "About archiving" on page 143).
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited.
Name
Description
Drive
Letter representing the drive in question, for example C:.
Select what you want to use the drive for:
Not in use: Do not use the drive.
Recording: Only available if the drive is a local drive on the
XProtect Professional server. Network drives cannot be used for
recording. Use the drive for storing recordings in the regular
database for XProtect Professional.
Purpose
Archiving: Use the drive for archiving. For archiving, it is generally
a good idea to use a drive which has plenty of space. With dynamic
path selection for archives (see description in the following), you do
not have to worry about drive space.
Rec. & Archiving: Only available if the drive is a local drive on the
XProtect Professional server. Network drives cannot be used for
recording. Use the drive for storing recordings in the regular
database for XProtect Professional as well as for archiving.
Path to the folder in which the camera's database should be stored.
Default is C:\MediaDatabase. To browse for another folder, click the
browse icon next to the required cell. You can only specify a path to
a folder on a local drive. You cannot specify a path to a network
drive. If you use a network drive, it is not be possible to save
recordings if the network drive becomes unavailable.
Recording Path
If you change the recording path, and you have existing recordings
at the old location, you are asked whether you want to move the
recordings to the new location (recommended), leave them at the
old location, or delete them.
Tip: If you have several cameras, and several local drives are
available, you can improve performance by distributing individual
cameras' databases across several drives.
www.milestonesys.com
63
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Only editable if not using dynamic paths for archiving (see "About
archiving" on page 143). Path to the folder in which the camera's
archived recordings should be stored. Default is C:\MediaDatabase.
Archiving Path
To browse for another folder, click the browse icon next to the
required cell. You can specify a path to a local or network drive. If
you change the archiving path, and there are existing archived
recordings at the old location, you will be asked whether you want
to move the archived recordings to the new location
(recommended), leave them at the old location, or delete them.
Note that if you move archived recordings, XProtect Professional
will also archive what is currently in the camera database. In case
you wonder why the camera database is empty just after you have
moved archived recordings, this is the reason.
Total Size
Total size of the drive.
Free Space
Amount of unused space left on the drive.
Dynamic path selection for
archives
If using this option (highly recommended), you should select a
number of different local drives for archiving. If the path containing
the XProtect Professional database is on one of the drives you have
selected for archiving, XProtect Professional will always try to
archive to that drive first. If not, XProtect Professional automatically
archives to the archiving drive with the most available space at any
time, provided there is not a camera database using that drive.
Which drive has the most available space may change during the
archiving process, and archiving may therefore happen to several
archiving drives during the same process. This fact will have no
impact on how users find and view archived recordings.
Network Drive
Lets you add a network drive to the list of drives. First specify the
network drive, then click Add (the button becomes available when
you specify a network drive) . Note that network drives cannot be
used for recording, only for archiving.
Archiving Times
Specify when you want XProtect Professional to automatically move
recordings to your archiving path(s). You can specify up to 24
archiving times per day, with minimum one hour between each one.
Select the hour, minute and second values and click the up and
down buttons to increase or decrease values, or simply overwrite
the selected value, and then click Add.
The more you expect to record, the more often you should archive.
Recording and archiving settings
Select recording and archiving (see "About archiving" on page 143) paths for each individual camera.
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited.
www.milestonesys.com
64
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Path to the folder in which the camera's database should be stored.
Default is C:\MediaDatabase. To browse for another folder, click the
browse icon next to the required cell. You can only specify a path to
a folder on a local drive. You cannot specify a path to a network
drive. If you use a network drive, it is not be possible to save
recordings if the network drive becomes unavailable.
Recording Path
If you change the recording path, and you have existing recordings
at the old location, you are asked whether you want to move the
recordings to the new location (recommended), leave them at the
old location, or delete them.
Tip: If you have several cameras, and several local drives are
available, you can improve performance by distributing individual
cameras' databases across several drives.
Only editable if not using dynamic paths for archiving (see "About
archiving" on page 143). Path to the folder in which the camera's
archived recordings should be stored. Default is C:\MediaDatabase.
Archiving Path
To browse for another folder, click the browse icon next to the
required cell. You can specify a path to a local or network drive. If
you change the archiving path, and there are existing archived
recordings at the old location, you will be asked whether you want
to move the archived recordings to the new location
(recommended), leave them at the old location, or delete them.
Note that if you move archived recordings, XProtect Professional
will also archive what is currently in the camera database. In case
you wonder why the camera database is empty just after you have
moved archived recordings, this is the reason.
Total amount of time for which you want to keep recordings from
the camera (that is recordings in the camera's database as well as
any archived recordings). Default is 30 days.
Retention Time
Note that the retention time covers the total amount of time you
want to keep recordings for. In earlier XProtect Professional
versions, time limits were specified separately for the database and
archives.
The template can help you configure similar properties quickly. For example, if you have 20 cameras
and you want a particular frame rate on all of them, you can simply enter it once in the template, and
then apply the template to the 20 cameras.
Name
Description
Apply Template
Select which cameras you want to apply the template for. You then
use one of the two Set buttons to actually apply the template.
Tip: To select all cameras in the list, click the Select All button.
Select All
Click button to select all cameras in the Apply Template column.
Clear All
Click button to clear all selections in the Apply Template column.
www.milestonesys.com
65
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Apply template on selected
cameras
Lets you apply the value from the template to selected cameras.
Adjust Motion Detection wizard
The Adjust Motion Detection wizard helps you quickly configure your cameras' motion detection
properties.
Cameras that do not support multiple simultaneous video streams cannot connect to the surveillance
server and the Management Application at the same time. Therefore, we recommended stopping (see
"Start and stop services" on page 184) the Recording Server service when configuring such devices
for motion detection and PTZ. See also View video from cameras in Management Application (on
page 213).
Pages in this wizard:
Exclude regions ....................................................................................... 66
Motion Detection ...................................................................................... 67
Exclude regions
Exclude regions let you disable motion detection in specific areas of cameras' views. Disabling motion
detection in certain areas may help you avoid detection of irrelevant motion, for example if a camera
covers an area where a tree is swaying in the wind or where cars regularly pass by in the background.
Cameras that do not support multiple simultaneous video streams will not be able to connect to the
surveillance server and the Management Application at the same time; therefore it is recommended to
stop (see "Start and stop services" on page 184) the Recording Server service when you configure
such devices for motion detection and PTZ. See also View video from cameras in Management
Application (on page 213).
For each camera for which exclude regions are relevant, use the list in the left side of the wizard
window to select the camera and define its exclude regions. Exclude regions are camera-specific, and
must therefore be configured individually for each camera on which they are required.
When you have selected a camera, you will see a preview from the camera. You define regions to
exclude in the preview, which is divided into small sections by a grid.

To make the grid visible, select the Show Grid check box.

To define exclude regions, drag the mouse pointer over the required areas in the preview while
pressing the mouse button down. Left mouse button selects a grid section; right mouse button
clears a grid section. Selected areas are highlighted in blue.
Tip: With the Include All button, you can quickly select all grid sections in the preview. This can be
advantageous if you want to disable motion detection in most areas of the preview, in which case you
can clear the few sections in which you do not want to disable motion detection. With the Exclude All
button you can quickly deselect them all.
www.milestonesys.com
66
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Motion Detection
Motion detection is a key element in most surveillance systems. Depending on your configuration,
motion detection settings may determine when video is recorded (saved on the surveillance system
server), when notifications are sent, when output (a light or siren) is triggered, etc.
It is important to find the best possible motion detection settings for each camera to avoid unnecessary
recordings, notifications, etc. Depending on the physical location of your cameras, it is a good idea to
test settings under different physical conditions (day/night, windy/calm weather, etc.).
Cameras that do not support multiple simultaneous video streams will not be able to connect to the
surveillance server and the Management Application at the same time; therefore it is recommended to
stop (see "Start and stop services" on page 184) the Recording Server service when you configure
such devices for motion detection and PTZ. See also View video from cameras in Management
Application (on page 213).
You can configure motion detection settings for each camera, or for several cameras at once. Use the
list in the left pane of the wizard window to select cameras. To select several cameras at a time, press
CTRL or SHIFT while selecting. When you select a camera, you will see a preview from that camera. If
you select several cameras, you will see a preview from the last camera you select. A green area in
the preview indicates motion.
Name
Description
Adjust the Sensitivity slider so that irrelevant background noise is
filtered out, and only real motion is shown in green. Alternatively,
specify a value between 0 and 256 in the field next to the slider to
control the sensitivity setting.
Sensitivity
www.milestonesys.com
The slider determines how much each pixel must change before it
is regarded as motion. With a high sensitivity, very little change in a
pixel is required before it is regarded as motion. The more you drag
the slider to the left, the more of the preview becomes green. This is
because with high sensitivity, even the slightest pixel change is
regarded as motion.
67
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Adjust the Motion slider so that motion detection is only triggered
by the required level of motion. The selected motion level is
indicated by the black vertical line in the Level bar above the
sliders. The black vertical line serves as a threshold. When motion
is above (to the right of) the selected level, the bar changes color
from green to red, indicating a positive motion detection.
Motion
Alternatively, specify a value between 0 and 10000 in the field on
the left to control the motion setting.
The more you drag the slider to the left, the more positive motion
detections you see because less change will be needed to trigger a
positive motion detection. The number of positive motion detections
may also affect the amount of video you record, the amount of
notifications you receive, etc.
Keyframe Only
Detection interval
If you want motion detection to take place only on keyframes of the
video stream to reduce the system resources used on motion
detection, select Keyframe only.
Specify how often motion detection analysis is carried out on video
from the camera. The default is every 240 milliseconds (close to
once a quarter of a second). The interval is applied regardless of
your cameras' frame rate settings.
Adjusting this setting can help lower the amount of system
resources used on motion detection.
Detection resolution
Specify whether the full image or a selected percentage of the
image should be analyzed. For example, by specifying 25%, every
fourth pixel is analyzed instead of all pixels, reducing the system
resources used but also offering less accurate motion detection.
Configure User Access wizard
The Configure User Access wizard helps you quickly configure clients' access to the XProtect
Professional server as well as which users should be able to use clients. The access summary at the
end of the wizard lists the cameras your users have access to.
When you use the wizard, all users you add will have access to all cameras, including any new
cameras added at a later stage. You can however, specify access settings, users and user rights (see
"Configure user and group rights" on page 179) separately. see Configure server access (on page
171). You cannot add users to groups (see "Add user groups" on page 178) through the wizard.
Pages in this wizard:
Server access settings ............................................................................ 69
Basic & Windows Users .......................................................................... 69
Configure User Access wizard: access summary ................................... 70
www.milestonesys.com
68
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Server access settings
Name
Description
Server name
Name of the XProtect Professional server as it will appear in clients.
Client users with rights to configure their clients will see the name of
the server when they create views in their clients.
Local port
Port number to use for communication between clients and the
surveillance server. The default port number is 80; you can change
the port number if port 80 is used for other purposes in your
organization.
Select required language/character set.
Example: If the surveillance server runs a Japanese version of
Character encoding/Language Windows, select Japanese. Provided access clients also use a
Japanese version of Windows, this will ensure that the correct
language and character encoding is used in clients' communication
with the server.
Internet access
Select if you want the server to be accessible from the internet
through a router or firewall. If you select this option, you must also
specify the public (“outside”) IP address and port number in the
following fields. When using public access, the router or firewall
must be configured so requests sent to the public IP address and
port are forwarded to the local (“inside”) IP address and port of the
XProtect Professional server.
Internet address
Lets you specify a public IP address or hostname for use when the
XProtect Professional server should be available from the internet.
Internet port
Specify a port number for use when the XProtect Professional
should be available from the Internet. The default port number is 80.
You can change the port number if needed.
Basic & Windows Users
You can add client users in two ways, which may be combined.

Basic user: create a dedicated surveillance system user account with basic user name and
password authentication for each individual user. To add a basic user, specify required user
name and password, and click the Add Basic User button. Repeat as required.

Windows user: import users defined locally on the server and authenticate them based on their
Windows login. This generally provides better security, and is the recommended method.
The users must have been defined as local PC users on the server. Simple file sharing must be
disabled on the server. Depending on your operative system, this can be done in different ways.

Windows 7: click the Windows logo and type file sharing in the search results window and
press Enter. Under File and Printer Sharing, make sure that Turn off file and printer
sharing is selected. Under Public Folder Sharing, make sure that Turn off public folder
sharing is cleared.
www.milestonesys.com
69
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual

Windows Vista: click Start > Control Panel. Under Network and Internet, select Set up file
sharing. The Network and Sharing Center window appears. Under Sharing and Discovery,
set the option for file sharing to Off by clicking the down arrow next to File Sharing and select
the radio button to Turn off file sharing. Click Apply and continue through the warning
messages.

Windows XP: click Start > My Computer. In the My Computer window, select Tools and in
the top menu, select Folder Options. A new Folder Options window opens. Click on the
View tab and scroll down to find Use simple file sharing (recommended). Clear the box to
disable file sharing. Click OK.
Add Windows users the following way:
1. Click Add Windows User... to open the Select Users or Groups dialog.
Note that you will only be able to make selections from the local computer, even if you click the
Locations... button.
2. In Enter the object names to select, enter the required user name(s), then use the Check
Names feature to verify that they are recognized. If you enter several user names, separate
each name with a semicolon. Example: Brian; Hannah; Karen; Wayne.
3. When done, click OK.
When a user who has been added from a local database logs in with a client, the user should not
specify any server name, PC name, or IP address as part of the user name. Example of a correctly
specified user name: USER001, not: PC001/USER001. The user should of course still specify a
password and any required server information.
Configure User Access wizard: access summary
The access summary simply lists which cameras your users will have access to. When using the
wizard, all users you have added will have access all to cameras, including any new cameras added at
a later stage. You can, however, limit individual users' access to cameras by changing their individual
rights (see "Configure user and group rights" on page 179).
www.milestonesys.com
70
Wizards
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Advanced configuration
Hardware devices
About hardware devices
You add cameras and other hardware devices, such as video encoders, to your XProtect Professional
system through the Add Hardware Devices... wizard (see "The Add Hardware Devices wizard" on
page 44). If microphones or speakers are attached to a hardware device, they are automatically added
as well.
About the Replace Hardware Device wizard
The Replace Hardware Device wizard helps you replace a hardware device that you have previously
added to and configured on your surveillance system. To open the Replace Hardware Device wizard,
right-click the device that you want to replace and select Replace Hardware Device.
The wizard is divided into these pages:

New hardware device information (on page 71)

Database action (see "Camera and database action" on page 72)
New hardware device information
Specify details about the new hardware device:
Name
Description
Address
IP address or host name of the hardware device.
Port
Port number on which to scan. The default is port 80. If a hardware
device is located behind a NAT-enabled router or a firewall, you
may need to specify a different port number. When this is the case,
also remember to configure the router/firewall so it maps the port
and IP address used by the hardware device.
User name
User name for the hardware device's administrator account. Many
organizations use the hardware device manufacturer's default user
names for their hardware devices. If that is the case in your
organization, select <default> (do not type a manufacturer's default
user name as this can be a source of error; trust that XProtect
Professional will know the manufacturer's default user name). Other
typical user names, such as admin or root are also selectable from
the list. If you want a user name which is not on the list, simply type
a new user name.
Tip: User names you enter will subsequently be added to the list,
so you can easily select them later.
www.milestonesys.com
71
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Password required to access the administrator account. A few
hardware devices do not require user name/password for access; if
such hardware devices are used in your organization, you can
leave the field blank.
Tip: If you are in doubt about which user name/password to use,
ask yourself: Have I previously used a web page to connect to the
hardware device and view video? While I did this, was I also able to
configure camera settings, such as resolution, etc.? If you can
answer yes to both questions, you were probably using the
hardware device’s administrator account, in which case you will
also know the user name/password. If still in doubt, look in the
XProtect Device Pack release notes.
Password
To specify which device driver to use for the new hardware device, you can:

Select the video device driver in the Hardware device type list, and then click Autodetect/Verify Hardware Device Type to verify that the driver matches the hardware device.
- or -

Click Auto-detect/Verify Hardware Device Type to automatically detect and verify the right
driver.
When the right driver is found, the Serial number (MAC address) field will display the MAC address
of the new hardware device.
When done, click Next.
Camera and database action
The last page of the Replace Hardware wizard lets you decide what to do with the camera and the
database containing recordings from the camera attached to the old hardware device. For multicamera devices such as video encoders, you must decide what to do for each video channel on the
new hardware device.
The table in the left side of the wizard page lists available video channels on the new hardware device.
For a regular single-camera hardware device, there will only be one video channel. For video
encoders, there will typically be several video channels.
1. For each video channel, use the table's Inherit column to select which camera from the old
hardware device should be inherited by the new hardware device.
2. Then decide what to do with camera databases. You have three options:
o
Inherit existing database(s): The cameras you selected to be inherited by the new
hardware device will inherit camera names, recordings databases as well as any archives
from the old hardware device. Databases and archives (see "About archiving" on page
143) will be renamed to reflect the new hardware device's MAC address and video
channels. The rights (see "Configure user and group rights" on page 179) of users with
access to the inherited cameras are automatically updated so they can view both old and
new recordings. Users will basically not notice the hardware device replacement since
camera names will remain the same.
www.milestonesys.com
72
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
o
Delete the existing database(s): The databases of the cameras you selected to be
inherited by the new hardware device will be deleted. New databases will be created for
future recordings, but it will not be possible to view recordings from before the hardware
replacement.
o
Leave the existing database(s): The databases of the cameras you selected to be
inherited by the new hardware device will not be deleted. New databases will be created
for future recordings, but even though the old databases still exist on the XProtect
Professional server it will not be possible to view recordings from before the hardware
replacement. Should you later want to delete the old databases, deletion must take place
manually.
3. If the new hardware device has fewer video channels than the old hardware device, it will not
be possible for the new hardware device to inherit all cameras from the old hardware device.
When that is the case, you will be asked what to do with the databases of cameras that could
not be inherited by the new hardware device. You have two options:
o
Delete the databases for the cameras that are not inherited: The databases of the
cameras that could not be inherited by the new hardware devices will be deleted. It will not
be possible to view recordings from before the hardware replacement. New databases will
of course be created for future recordings by the new hardware devices.
o
Leave the databases for the cameras that are not inherited: The databases of the
cameras that could not be inherited by the new hardware devices will not be deleted. Even
though the old databases still exist on the XProtect Professional server it will not be
possible to view recordings from before the hardware replacement. Should you later want
to delete the old databases, deletion must take place manually. New databases will of
course be created for future recordings by the new hardware devices.
4. Click Finish.
When ready, restart (see "Start and stop services" on page 184) the Recording Server service.
The hardware replacement will not be evident in clients until you restart the Recording Server
service.
About dedicated input/output devices
You can add a number of dedicated input/output (I/O) hardware devices to XProtect Professional (see
Add hardware devices (see "The Add Hardware Devices wizard" on page 44)). For information about
which I/O hardware devices are supported, see the release notes.
When you add I/O hardware devices, input on them can be used for generating events in XProtect
Professional, and events in XProtect Professional can be used for activating output on the I/O
hardware devices. This means that you can use I/O hardware devices in your events-based system
setup in the same way as a camera.
With certain I/O hardware devices it is necessary for the surveillance system to regularly check the
state of the hardware devices' input ports to detect whether input has been received. Such state
checking at regular intervals is called polling. The interval between state checks, called a polling
frequency, is specified as part of the general ports & polling properties (see "Ports and polling" on
page 133). For such I/O hardware devices, the polling frequency should be set to the lowest possible
value (one tenth of a second between state checks). For information about which I/O hardware
devices require polling, see the release notes.
www.milestonesys.com
73
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Configure hardware devices
Once you have added hardware devices (see "The Add Hardware Devices wizard" on page 44), you
can specify/edit device-specific properties, such as the IP address, which video channels to use, which
COM ports to use for controlling attached PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) cameras, whether to use 360° lens
technology, etc.
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, expand
Hardware Devices, right-click the required hardware device, and select Properties.
2. Specify Name & Video channels, Network, Device type and license (see "Network, device
type, and license" on page 75), PTZ device (on page 76), and 360° Lens (see "Fisheye" on
page 113) properties as required.
3. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Delete hardware devices
IMPORTANT: If you delete a hardware device you will not only delete all cameras , speakers and
microphones attached to the hardware device. You will also delete any recordings from cameras on
the hardware device.
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, expand
Hardware Devices, right-click the hardware device you want to delete, and select Delete
Hardware device.
2. Confirm that you want to delete the hardware device and all its recordings.
3. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
4. Restart (see "Start and stop services" on page 184) the Recording Server service.
If deleting a hardware device is not the right thing to do, consider disabling the individual cameras ,
speakers or microphones connected to the hardware device:
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, expand
Hardware Devices, and expand the hardware device in question.
2. Right-click the camera or microphone or speaker that you want to disable, and select Disable.
3. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
4. Restart (see "Start and stop services" on page 184) the Recording Server service.
Replace hardware devices
If required, you can replace a hardware device—which you have previously added to and configured
on your surveillance system—with a new one. This can typically be relevant if you replace a physical
camera on your network.
www.milestonesys.com
74
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1

Administrator's Manual
Open the Replace Hardware Device wizard (see "About the Replace Hardware Device wizard"
on page 71), which helps you through the entire replacement process on the surveillance
system server, including:
o
Detecting the new hardware device
o
Specifying license for the new hardware device
o
Deciding what to do with existing recordings from the old hardware device
Hardware properties
Properties in this window:
Hardware name and video channels ....................................................... 75
Network, device type, and license ........................................................... 75
PTZ device............................................................................................... 76
Hardware name and video channels
When you configure hardware devices (on page 74), specify the following properties:
Name
Description
Hardware name
The name as it appears in the Management Application as well as
in clients. You can overwrite the existing name with a new one.
Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Video channel # enabled
Enable/disable each of the selected hardware device's video
channels. Many hardware devices only have a single video
channel, in which case only one channel will be listed. Other
hardware devices—typically video encoder devices—have several
video channels.
If some of the channels are unavailable, this is because you are not licensed to use all of a video
encoder device's channels. Example: You have a video encoder device with four channels, but your
license for the device only allows you to use two of them. In that case, you can only have two channels
enabled at a time; the two other channels will be disabled. Note that you are free to select which two
channels you want to enable. Contact your Milestone vendor if you need to change your number of
licenses.
Network, device type, and license
When you configure hardware devices (on page 74), specify the following properties:
Name
Description
Address
IP address or host name of the hardware device.
www.milestonesys.com
75
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
HTTP Port
Port to use for HTTP communication with the hardware device.
Default is port 80. To use the default port, select Use default HTTP
port.

FTP port
User name
User name
Port to use for FTP communication with the hardware
device. Default port is port 21.To use the default port, select
Use default FTP port.
Only required when Server requires login is selected. Specify the
user name required for using the SMTP server.
User name for the hardware device's administrator account. Many
organizations use the hardware device manufacturer's default user
names for their hardware devices. If that is the case in your
organization, select <default> (do not type a manufacturer's default
user name as this can be a source of error; trust that XProtect
Professional will know the manufacturer's default user name). Other
typical user names, such as admin or root are also selectable from
the list. If you want a user name which is not on the list, simply type
a new user name.
Tip: User names you enter will subsequently be added to the list,
so you can easily select them later.
Password
Password for the hardware device's administrator account, a.k.a.
the root password.
Hardware type
Read-only field displaying the type of video device driver used for
communication with the hardware device.
Serial number (MAC address)
Read-only field displaying the serial number of device. The serial
number is usually identical to the 12-character hexadecimal MAC
address of the hardware device (example: 0123456789AF).
License information
The current license status for the hardware.
Replace Hardware Device
Opens a wizard (see "About the Replace Hardware Device wizard"
on page 71), with which you—if required—can replace the selected
hardware device with another one. This can typically be relevant if
you replace a physical camera on your network. The wizard helps
you take all relevant issues into account: for example, deciding
what to do with recordings from cameras attached to the old
hardware device, etc.
PTZ device
The PTZ Device tab is only available if you configure (see "Configure hardware devices" on page 74)
video encoder hardware devices on which the use of PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) cameras is possible:
Name
Description
Connected cameras have
Pan/tilt/Zoom capabilities
Select check box if any of the cameras attached to the video
encoder device is a PTZ camera.
www.milestonesys.com
76
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
If a PTZ camera is controlled through the COM port (a.k.a. serial
port) in question, select the required option. Options are devicespecific, depending on which PTZ protocols are used by the device
in question. If no PTZ cameras are controlled through the COM port
in question, select None.
PTZ type on COM#
Some of the options concern absolute and relative positioning.
What is that? Absolute positioning is when the PTZ camera is
controlled based on a single fixed position, against which all other
positions are measured. Relative positioning is when the PTZ
camera is controlled relative to its current position.
The table in the lower half of the dialog contains a row for each video channel on the hardware device.
First row from the top corresponds to video channel 1, second row from the top corresponds to video
channel 2, etc.
Name
Description
Name
Name of the camera attached to the video channel in question.
Select whether the camera on the selected camera channel is fixed
or moveable:
Type

Fixed: Camera is a regular camera mounted in a fixed
position

Moveable: Camera is a PTZ camera
Port
Available only if Moveable is selected in the Type column. Select
which COM port on the video encoder to use for controlling the PTZ
camera.
Port Address
Available only if Moveable is selected in the Type column. Lets you
specify port address of the camera. The port address will normally
be 1. If using daisy chained PTZ cameras, the port address will
identify each of them, and you should verify your settings with those
recommended in the documentation for the camera.
Cameras and storage information
About video and recording configuration
Once you have added hardware devices and attached cameras, you can configure video and
recording settings in three ways:

Wizard-driven: Guided configuration which lets you specify video, recording and archiving
settings for all your cameras. See Configure Video and Recording wizard and Adjust Motion
Detection wizard.
www.milestonesys.com
77
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1

General: Specify video, recording and shared settings (such as dynamic archiving paths and
whether audio should be recorded or not) for all your cameras.
o

Administrator's Manual
In the Management Application navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick Cameras and Storage Information, and select Properties.
Camera-specific: Specify video, recording and camera-specific settings (such as event
notification, PTZ preset positions, and fisheye view areas) for each individual camera.
o
In the Management Application navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, and
expand Cameras and Storage Information, right-click the required camera, and select
Properties.
About database resizing
In case recordings for a camera get bigger than expected, or the available drive space is suddenly
reduced in another way, an advanced database resizing procedure will automatically take place:
If archives (see "About archiving" on page 143) are present on the same drive as the camera's
database, the oldest archive for all cameras archived on that drive will be moved to another drive
(moving archives is only possible if you use dynamic archiving (see "Dynamic path selection" on page
86), with which you can archive to several different drives) or—if moving is not possible—deleted.
If no archives are present on the drive containing the camera's database, the size of all camera
databases on the drive will be reduced by deleting a percentage of their oldest recordings, temporarily
limiting the size of all databases.
When the Recording Server service (see "About services" on page 183) is restarted upon such
database resizing, the original database sizes will be used. You should therefore make sure that the
drive size problem is solved.
Should the database resizing procedure take place, you will be informed on-screen in the Smart
Client, in log files, and (if set up) through an e-mail and/or SMS notification.
About motion detection settings
Motion detection settings are linked to the Recording properties (see "Recording" on page 105)
settings for the camera. Motion detection is enabled as default. Disabling it will improve CPU and RAM
performance of your XProtect Professional system, but will—depending on your system settings—also
affect your motion detection, event and alarm management. In the following two tables, You can see
the differences between enabling (table 1) and disabling (table 2) built-in motion detection for a
camera.
Enabled motion detection
Recording properties
setting
Recordings
Motion-based
events
Non-motion
based events
Sequences
Always
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Never
No
Yes
Yes
No
Built-in Motion
Detection
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
www.milestonesys.com
78
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Recording properties
setting
Recordings
Motion-based
events
Non-motion
based events
Sequences
Built-in Motion
Detection & Event or
Event only
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Disabled motion detection
Camera's recording
settings
Recordings
Motion-based
events
Non-motion
based events
Sequences
Always
Yes
No
Yes
No
Never
No
No
Yes
No
Built-in Motion
Detection
No
No
Yes
No
Built-in Motion
Detection & Event or
Event only
Yes (depending
on settings)
No
Yes (depending
on settings)
No
About motion detection and PTZ cameras
Motion detection generally works the same way for PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) cameras as it does for regular
cameras. However:

It is not possible to configure motion detection separately for each of a PTZ camera's preset
positions.

In order to activate unwanted recordings, notifications, etc., motion detection is automatically
disabled while a PTZ camera moves between two preset positions. After a number of seconds,
the so-called transition time, specified as part of the PTZ camera's PTZ patrolling properties
(see "PTZ patrolling" on page 117), motion detection is automatically enabled again.
Configure camera-specific schedules
If you base your schedule profile—or parts of it—on events within periods of time, remember to select
Start event and Stop event from the lists below the calendar section.
www.milestonesys.com
79
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you can quickly do it: Use the Configure events
list, located below the other fields.
The fact that a camera transfers video to XProtect Professional does not necessarily mean that video
from the camera is recorded. Recording is configured separately; see Configure video and recording
(see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77).
For each camera, you can create schedule profiles based on:
Online periods

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in pink:

Events within periods of time (example: from Event A occurs until Event B occurs Mondays
from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in yellow:
The two options can be combined
, but they cannot overlap in time.
Speedup

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in olive green:
E-mail notification

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in blue:
SMS notification

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in green:
PTZ patrolling

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in red:

If use of one patrolling profile is followed immediately by use of another, run your mouse
pointer over the red bar to see which patrolling profile applies when.
XProtect Professional comes with two simple schedule profiles, Always on and Always off, which
cannot be edited or deleted. If these do not meet your needs, you can create any number of
www.milestonesys.com
80
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
customized schedule profiles for each camera. When you create a customized schedule profile for one
camera, you can reuse it with other cameras if required.
1. In the Schedule Profiles list, select Add new....
2. In the Add Profile dialog, enter a name for the profile. Names must not contain any of these
special characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
3. In the top right corner of the dialog, select Set camera to start/stop on time (to base
subsequent settings on periods of time) or Set camera to start/stop on event (to base
subsequent settings on events within periods of time).
Tip: You can combine the two, so you may return to this step in order to toggle between the
two options.
4. In the calendar section, place your mouse pointer at a required start point, then hold down the
left mouse button, drag the mouse pointer and release at the required end point.
o
You specify each day separately.
o
You specify time in increments of five minutes. XProtect Professional helps you by
showing the time over which your mouse pointer is positioned.
If you base your schedule profile—or parts of it—on events within periods of time, remember to select
Start event and Stop event from the lists below the calendar section.
o
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you can quickly do it: Use the
Configure events list, located below the other fields.
o
To delete an unwanted part of a schedule profile, right-click it and select Delete.
o
To quickly fill or clear an entire day, double-click the name of the day.
o
As an alternative to dragging inside the calendar section, use the Start time, End time
and Day fields, then the Change Period or Set Period button as required. When using the
Start time and End time fields, remember that time is specified in increments of five
minutes. You cannot specify a period shorter than five minutes, and you can only use
times like 12:00, 12.05, 12:10, 12:15, etc. If you specify a time outside of the five-minute
intervals, such as 12:13, you will get an error message.
Configure when cameras should do what
Use the scheduling feature to configure when:

Cameras should be online (that is transfer video to XProtect Professional)

Cameras should use speedup (that is use a higher than normal frame rate)

You want to receive any e-mail and/or SMS notifications regarding cameras

PTZ cameras should patrol, and according to which patrolling profile
www.milestonesys.com
81
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1

Administrator's Manual
Archiving should take place
See Configure general scheduling and archiving (on page 149) and Configure camera-specific
schedules (on page 79).
Configure motion detection
Do the following:
1. In the Management Application navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, expand
Cameras and Storage Information, right-click the required camera, and select Properties.
2. In the Camera Properties window, select the Recording Properties tab, and select the
relevant settings (see "About motion detection settings" on page 78).
3. Select the Motion Detection tab.
If there are any areas that should be excluded from motion detection (for example if the
camera covers an area where a tree is swaying in the wind), you can exclude that area (see
"Exclude regions" on page 66) by selecting it with your mouse.
4. Fill in the relevant properties (see "Motion detection & exclude regions" on page 110).
There are some differences in motion-detection behavior for PTZ cameras (see "About motion
detection and PTZ cameras" on page 79).
5. Click OK.
Disable or delete cameras
All cameras are by default enabled. This means that video from the cameras can be transferred to
XProtect Professional provided that the cameras are scheduled to be online (see "Online period" on
page 155).
To disable a camera:
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, expand
Cameras and Storage Information, double-click the camera you want to disable, and clear
the Enabled box.
2. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
To delete a camera, you have to delete the hardware device (see "Delete hardware devices" on page
74). If you delete the hardware device, you also delete any attached microphones and speakers. If you
do not want this, consider disabling the camera instead.
www.milestonesys.com
82
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Move PTZ type 1 and 3 to required positions
For PTZ types 1 and 3, you can move the PTZ camera to required positions in several different ways:
1. Click the required position in the camera preview (if supported by the camera).
2. Use the sliders located near the camera preview to move the PTZ camera along each of its
axes: the X-axis (for panning left/right), the Y-axis (for tilting up/down), and the Z-axis (for
zooming in and out; to zoom in, move the slider towards Tele; to zoom out, move the slider
towards Wide).
3. Use the navigation buttons:
Moves the PTZ camera up and to the left
Moves the PTZ camera up
Moves the PTZ camera up and to the right
Moves the PTZ camera to the left
Moves the PTZ camera to its home position (that is default
position)
Moves the PTZ camera to the right
Moves the PTZ camera down and to the left
Moves the PTZ camera down
Moves the PTZ camera down and to the right
Zooms out (one zoom level per click)
Zooms in (one zoom level per click)
www.milestonesys.com
83
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Recording and storage properties
Properties in this window:
Recording and archiving paths ................................................................ 84
Dynamic path selection ........................................................................... 86
Video recording ....................................................................................... 87
Manual recording ..................................................................................... 92
Frame rate - MJPEG ............................................................................... 93
Frame Rate - MPEG ................................................................................ 96
Audio recording ....................................................................................... 98
Audio selection ........................................................................................ 99
Storage information ............................................................................... 100
Recording and archiving paths
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77),
you can specify certain properties for many cameras in one go. Either in order to speed up things, or
because the properties in question are shared by all cameras rather than being specific to individual
cameras.
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited. Note that all of the properties can also be specified individually for each camera.
Name
Description
Template
The template can help you configure similar properties quickly. Say
you have 20 cameras and you want to change the recording path,
archiving path, and retention time for all of them. Instead of having
to enter the same three pieces of information 20 times, you can
simply enter them once in the template, and then apply the template
to the 20 cameras with only two clicks.
Apply Template
Select which cameras you want to apply the template for. You then
use one of the two Set buttons to actually apply the template.
Tip: To select all cameras in the list, click the Select All button.
Camera Name
www.milestonesys.com
The name as it appears in the Management Application as well as
in clients. You can overwrite the existing name with a new one.
Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
84
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Users of the Smart Client can take advantage of keyboard
shortcuts, some of which let the users toggle between viewing
different cameras. Such shortcuts include numbers which are used
to identify each camera.
Shortcut
Shortcut numbers must be unique for each camera. A camera
shortcut number must not contain any letters or special characters,
and must not be longer than eight digits.
Examples of correct camera shortcut numbers: 3, 12345678.
Examples of incorrect camera shortcut numbers: Cam#3,
123456789.
More information about using the keyboard shortcuts is available in
the separate documentation for the Smart Client.
Path to the folder in which the camera's database should be stored.
Default is C:\MediaDatabase. To browse for another folder, click the
browse icon next to the required cell. You can only specify a path to
a folder on a local drive. You cannot specify a path to a network
drive. If you use a network drive, it is not be possible to save
recordings if the network drive becomes unavailable.
Recording Path
If you change the recording path, and you have existing recordings
at the old location, you are asked whether you want to move the
recordings to the new location (recommended), leave them at the
old location, or delete them.
Tip: If you have several cameras, and several local drives are
available, you can improve performance by distributing individual
cameras' databases across several drives.
Only editable if not using dynamic paths for archiving (see "About
archiving" on page 143). Path to the folder in which the camera's
archived recordings should be stored. Default is C:\MediaDatabase.
Archiving Path
To browse for another folder, click the browse icon next to the
required cell. You can specify a path to a local or network drive. If
you change the archiving path, and there are existing archived
recordings at the old location, you will be asked whether you want
to move the archived recordings to the new location
(recommended), leave them at the old location, or delete them.
Note that if you move archived recordings, XProtect Professional
will also archive what is currently in the camera database. In case
you wonder why the camera database is empty just after you have
moved archived recordings, this is the reason.
Total amount of time for which you want to keep recordings from
the camera (that is recordings in the camera's database as well as
any archived recordings). Default is 30 days.
Retention Time
www.milestonesys.com
Note that the retention time covers the total amount of time you
want to keep recordings for. In earlier XProtect Professional
versions, time limits were specified separately for the database and
archives.
85
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Camera
Click the Open button to configure detailed and/or camera-specific
settings (such as event notification, PTZ preset positions, and
fisheye view areas) for the selected camera.
Select All
Click button to select all cameras in the Apply Template column.
Clear All
Click button to clear all selections in the Apply Template column.
Set selected template value on Apply only a selected value from the template to selected cameras.
selected cameras
Tip: To select more than one value press CTRL while selecting.
Set all template values on
selected cameras
Apply all values from the template to selected cameras.
Dynamic path selection
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77),
you can specify certain properties for many cameras in one go. In the case of Dynamic Path Selection,
it is because the properties are shared by all cameras.
With dynamic archiving (see "About archiving" on page 143) paths, you specify a number of different
archiving paths, usually across several drives. If the path containing the XProtect Professional
database is on one of the drives you have selected for archiving, XProtect Professional will always try
to archive to that drive first. If not, XProtect Professional automatically archives to the archiving drive
with the most available space at any time, provided there is not a camera database using that drive.
Which drive has the most available space may change during the archiving process, and archiving
may therefore happen to several archiving drives during the same process. This fact will have no
impact on how users find and view archived recordings.
Dynamic archiving paths are general for all your cameras; you cannot configure dynamic archiving
paths for individual cameras.
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited.
Name
Description
Enable dynamic path
selection archives
Enables the use of dynamic path selection, allowing you to select
which paths you want to use. The list of selectable paths initially
represents all drives on the server, both local and mapped drives.
You can add further paths with the New path feature below the list.
Use
Select particular paths for use as dynamic archiving paths. You can
also select a previously manually added path for removal (see
description of Remove button in the following).
Drive
Letter representing the drive in question, for example C:.
Path
Path to where you save the files, for example C:\ or
\\OurServer\OurFolder\OurSubfolder\.
Drive Size
Total size of the drive.
Free Space
Amount of unused space left on the drive.
www.milestonesys.com
86
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
New path
Specify a new path, and add it to the list using the Add button.
Paths must be reachable by the surveillance system server, and
you must specify the path using the UNC (Universal Naming
Convention) format, example: \\server\volume\directory\. When the
new path is added, you can select it for use as a dynamic archiving
path.
Add
Add the path specified in the New path field to the list.
Remove
Remove a selected path—which has previously been manually
added—from the list. You cannot remove any of the initially listed
paths, not even when they are selected.
Video recording
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77),
you can specify certain properties for many cameras in one go. Either in order to speed up things, or
because the properties in question are shared by all cameras rather than being specific to individual
cameras.
In XProtect Professional, the term recording means saving video and, if applicable, audio from a
camera in the camera's database on the surveillance system server. Video/audio is often saved
only when there is a reason to do so, for example as long as motion is detected, when an event occurs
and until another event occurs, or within a certain period of time.
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited. Note that all of the Video Recording properties can also be specified individually for each
camera (see "Recording" on page 105).
Name
Description
Template
The template can help you configure similar properties quickly. Say
you have 20 cameras and you want to change the recording path,
archiving path, and retention time for all of them. Instead of having
to enter the same three pieces of information 20 times, you can
simply enter them once in the template, and then apply the template
to the 20 cameras with only two clicks.
Apply Template
Select which cameras you want to apply the template for. You then
use one of the two Set buttons to actually apply the template.
Tip: To select all cameras in the list, click the Select All button.
Camera Name
www.milestonesys.com
The name as it appears in the Management Application as well as
in clients. You can overwrite the existing name with a new one.
Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
87
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Lets you select under which conditions video from the camera
should be recorded:

Always: Record whenever the camera is enabled (see
"General" on page 100) and scheduled to be online (see
"Online period" on page 155) (the latter allows for timebased recording).

Never: Never record. Live video will be displayed, but—
since no video is kept in the database—users will not be
able to play back video from the camera.

Motion Detection: Select this to record video in which
motion (see "Motion detection & exclude regions" on page
110) is detected. Unless post-recording (see the following)
is used, recording will stop immediately after the last motion
is detected.

Event: Select this to record video when an event occurs
and until another event occurs. Use of recording on event
requires that events have been defined, and that you select
start and stop events.
Record on
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you
can quickly do it: Use the Configure events list, located
below the other fields.

Motion Detection & Event: Select this to record video in
which motion is detected, or when an event occurs and until
another event occurs. Remember to select start and stop
events in the neighboring columns.
Start Event
Select required start event. Recording will begin when the start
event occurs (or earlier if using pre-recording; see the following).
Stop Event
Select required stop event. Recording will end when the stop event
occurs (or later if using post-recording; see the following).
Pre-recording
You can store recordings from periods preceding detected motion
and/or start events. Select check box to enable this feature. Specify
the required number of seconds in the neighboring column.
How does pre- and post-recording work? XProtect Professional
receives video in a continuous stream from the camera whenever
the camera is enabled and scheduled to be online. This is what lets
you view live video, but it also means that XProtect Professional
can easily store received video for a number of seconds in its
memory (a.k.a. buffering). If it turns out that the buffered video is
needed for pre- or post-recording, it is automatically appended to
the recording. If not, it is simply discarded.
www.milestonesys.com
88
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Seconds [of pre-recording]
Specify the number of seconds for which you want to record video
from before recording start conditions (that is motion or start event)
are met. Usually, only some seconds of pre-recording is required,
but you can specify up to 65535 seconds of pre-recording,
corresponding to 18 hours, 12 minutes and 15 seconds. However, if
specifying a very long pre-recording time, you can potentially run
into a scenario where your pre-recording time spans scheduled or
unscheduled archiving (see "About archiving" on page 143) times.
That can be problematic since pre-recording does not work well
during archiving.
Post-recording
You can store recordings from periods following detected motion
and/or stop events. Select check box to enable this feature. Specify
the required number of seconds in the neighboring column.
Seconds [of post-recording]
Specify the number of seconds for which you want to record video
from after recording stop conditions (that is motion or stop event)
are met. Usually, only some seconds of post-recording is required,
but you can specify up to 65535 seconds of post-recording,
corresponding to 18 hours, 12 minutes and 15 seconds. However, if
specifying a very long post-recording time, you can potentially run
into a scenario where your post-recording time spans scheduled or
unscheduled archiving times. That can be problematic since postrecording does not work well during archiving.
Camera
Click the Open button to configure detailed and/or camera-specific
settings (such as event notification, PTZ preset positions, and
fisheye view areas) for the selected camera.
Select All
Click button to select all cameras in the Apply Template column.
Clear All
Click button to clear all selections in the Apply Template column.
Set selected template value on Apply only a selected value from the template to selected cameras.
selected cameras
Tip: To select more than one value press CTRL while selecting.
Set all template values on
selected cameras
Apply all values from the template to selected cameras.
Properties in this window:
If the camera uses the MJPEG video format........................................... 89
If the camera uses the MPEG video format ............................................ 91
If the camera uses the MJPEG video format
With MJPEG, you can define frame rates for regular as well as speedup modes. If the camera offers
dual stream, you can also enable this:
www.milestonesys.com
89
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Regular frame rate mode:
Name
Description
Frame Rate
Required average frame rate for video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour).
Required average frame rate for live video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour).
Live Frame Rate
Recording Frame Rate
If the camera supports dual stream and dual stream is enabled, the
Live Frame Rate column will be read-only with the value Dual
streaming—which cannot be altered.
Required average frame rate for recorded video from the camera.
Select number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second,
minute or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
Speedup frame rate mode:
Name
Description
Enable speedup frame rate
The speedup feature lets you use a higher than normal frame rate if
motion is detected and/or an event occurs. When you enable
speedup, further columns for specifying speedup details become
available.
Frame Rate
Speedup frame rate for viewing video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
Live Frame Rate
Required average frame rate for live video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
If the camera supports dual stream and dual stream is enabled, the
Live Frame Rate column will be read-only with the value Dual
streaming—which cannot be altered.
Recording Frame Rate
Required average frame rate for recorded video from the camera.
Select number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second,
minute or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
On motion
Select this check box to use the speedup frame rates when motion
is detected. The camera will return to the normal frame rates two
seconds after the last motion is detected.
www.milestonesys.com
90
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
On event
Select this check box to use the speedup frame rates when an
event occurs and until another event occurs. Use of speedup on
event requires that events have been defined, and that you select
start and stop events in the neighboring lists.
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you can quickly
do it: Use the Configure events list, located below the other fields.
Start Event
Select required start event. The camera will begin using the
speedup frame rates when the start event occurs.
Stop Event
Select required stop event. The camera will return to the normal
frame rates when the stop event occurs.
Tip: Speedup does not necessarily have to be based on motion- or events, you can also use
scheduling (see "Speedup" on page 156) to configure speedup based on particular periods of time. If
you prefer such time-based speedup, you should still enable the use of speedup by selecting the
Enable speedup check box.
Dual stream:
This feature is only available on cameras supporting dual stream.
Name
Description
Enable dedicated live stream
This additional stream feature lets you use the alternative stream of
the camera. It enables two independent streams to the recording
server—a stream for live viewing and another stream for recording
purposes, with different resolution, encoding, and frame rate.
Stream
Select the type of the live stream. Stream settings for viewing live
video and for recording video may very well be different in order to
get the best result.
Resolution
Select the resolution of the camera.
FPS
Select the camera's live frame rate per second (FPS)
Why are there three different places where I can configure frame rates for video? The first, Live frame
rate, is for the regular recording stream. The second, Live frame rate, is for when speeding up
recordings in connection with motion detection or similar. And the third, FPS, is for the additional
stream used for live viewing.
If the camera uses the MPEG video format
With MPEG, you can define frame rate and other settings:
Name
Description
Frame rate per second
Frame rate for viewing live and recorded video from the camera.
Select number of frames per second.
www.milestonesys.com
91
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Record keyframes only
Keyframes stored at specified intervals record the entire view of the
camera, whereas the following frames record only pixels that
change. This helps greatly reducing the size of MPEG files. Select
the check box if you only want to record keyframes. Note that you
can specify exceptions if motion is detected or events occur (see
the following).
Record all frames on motion
Allows you to make exceptions if you have selected to record
keyframes only. Select this check box to record all frames when
motion is detected. Two seconds after the last motion is detected,
the camera will return to recording keyframes only.
Record all frames on event
Allows you to make exceptions if you have selected to record
keyframes only. Select this check box to record all frames when an
event occurs and until another event occurs. Use of this feature
requires that events have been defined, and that you select start
and stop events in the neighboring lists.
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you can quickly
do it: Use the Configure events list, located below the other fields.
Start Event
Use when recording on Event or Motion Detection & Event.
Select required start event. The camera will begin recording all
frames when the start event occurs.
Stop Event
Select required stop event. The camera will again only recording
keyframes when the stop event occurs.
Dual stream:
This feature is only available on cameras supporting dual stream.
Name
Description
Enable dedicated live stream
This additional stream feature lets you use the alternative stream of
the camera. It enables two independent streams to the recording
server—a stream for live viewing and another stream for recording
purposes, with different resolution, encoding, and frame rate.
Stream
Select the type of the live stream. Stream settings for viewing live
video and for recording video may very well be different in order to
get the best result.
Resolution
Select the resolution of the camera.
FPS
Select the camera's live frame rate per second (FPS)
Manual recording
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77),
you can specify certain properties for many cameras in one go. In the case of Manual recording, it is
because the properties are shared by all cameras.
www.milestonesys.com
92
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
When manual recording is enabled, Smart Client users with the necessary rights (see "Configure user
and group rights" on page 179) can manually start recording if they see something of interest while
viewing live video from a camera which is not already recording.
If enabled, manual recording can take place even if recording for individual cameras (see "Recording"
on page 105) is set to Never or Conditionally.
When started from the Smart Client, such user-driven recording will always take place for a fixed time,
for example for five minutes.
Name
Description
Enable manual recording
Select check box to enable manual recording and specify further
details.
Default duration of manual
recording
Period of time (in seconds) during which user-driven recording will
take place. Default duration is 300 seconds, corresponding to five
minutes.
Maximum duration of manual
recording
Maximum allowed period of time for user-driven recording. This
maximum is not relevant in connection with manual recording
started from the Smart Client, since such manual recording will
always take place for a fixed time. In some installations it is,
however, also possible to combine manual recording with thirdparty applications if integrating these with XProtect Professional
through an API or similar, and in such cases specifying a maximum
duration may be relevant. If you are simply using manual recording
in connection with the Smart Client, disregard this property.
Frame rate - MJPEG
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77),
you can specify certain properties for many cameras in one go. Either in order to speed up things, or
because the properties in question are shared by all cameras rather than being specific to individual
cameras.
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited. Note that all of the Frame Rate - MJPEG properties can also be specified individually for each
camera (see "Recording" on page 105) using MJPEG.
Properties in this window:
Template and common properties ........................................................... 93
Regular frame rate properties.................................................................. 94
Speedup frame rate properties ................................................................ 95
Template and common properties
www.milestonesys.com
93
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Template
The template can help you configure similar properties quickly. Say
you have 20 cameras and you want to change the recording path,
archiving path, and retention time for all of them. Instead of having
to enter the same three pieces of information 20 times, you can
simply enter them once in the template, and then apply the template
to the 20 cameras with only two clicks.
Apply Template
Select which cameras you want to apply the template for. You then
use one of the two Set buttons to actually apply the template.
Tip: To select all cameras in the list, click the Select All button.
Select All
Click button to select all cameras in the Apply Template column.
Clear All
Click button to clear all selections in the Apply Template column.
Set selected template value on Apply only a selected value from the template to selected cameras.
selected cameras
Tip: To select more than one value press CTRL while selecting.
Set all template values on
selected cameras
Apply all values from the template to selected cameras.
Camera Name
The name as it appears in the Management Application as well as
in clients. You can overwrite the existing name with a new one.
Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Regular frame rate properties
Name
Description
Frame Rate
Required average frame rate for video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour).
Required average frame rate for live video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour).
Live Frame Rate
If the camera supports dual stream and dual stream is enabled, the
Live Frame Rate column will be read-only with the value Dual
streaming—which cannot be altered.
Recording Frame Rate
Required average frame rate for recorded video from the camera.
Select number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second,
minute or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
Time Unit
Select required unit for live and recording frame rates (per second,
minute, or hour). Note that you can only select time bases that let
you speed up frame rates. Example: If you have specified 15
frames per second in normal mode, you cannot specify 16 frames
per minute or hour in speedup mode.
www.milestonesys.com
94
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Camera
Click the Open button to configure detailed and/or camera-specific
settings (such as event notification, PTZ preset positions, and
fisheye view areas) for the selected camera.
Speedup frame rate properties
Name
Description
Enable Speedup
The speedup feature lets you use a higher than normal frame rate if
motion is detected and/or an event occurs. When you enable
speedup, further columns for specifying speedup details become
available.
Frame Rate
Speedup frame rate for viewing video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
Live Frame Rate
Required average frame rate for live video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
If the camera supports dual stream and dual stream is enabled, the
Live Frame Rate column will be read-only with the value Dual
streaming—which cannot be altered.
Recording Frame Rate
Required average frame rate for recorded video from the camera.
Select number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second,
minute or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
Time Unit
Select required unit for live and recording frame rates (per second,
minute, or hour). Note that you can only select time bases that let
you speed up frame rates. Example: If you have specified 15
frames per second in normal mode, you cannot specify 16 frames
per minute or hour in speedup mode.
www.milestonesys.com
95
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description

Motion Detection: Select this to speed up when motion
(see "Motion detection & exclude regions" on page 110) is
detected. Normal frame rates will be resumed immediately
after the last motion is detected.

Event: Select this to speed up when an event occurs and
until another event occurs. Use of speedup on event
requires that events have been defined, and that you select
start and stop events in the neighboring columns.
Speedup On
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you
can quickly do it: Use the Configure events list, located
below the other fields.

Motion Detection & Event: Select this to speed up when
motion is detected, or when an event occurs and until
another event occurs. Remember to select start and stop
events in the neighboring columns.
Schedule Only
Select this to speed up according to the camera's speedup
schedule (see "Speedup" on page 156) only.
Start Event
Select required start event. The camera will begin using the
speedup frame rates when the start event occurs.
Stop Event
Select required stop event. The camera will return to the normal
frame rates when the stop event occurs.
Camera
Click the Open button to configure detailed and/or camera-specific
settings (such as event notification, PTZ preset positions, and
fisheye view areas) for the selected camera.
Frame Rate - MPEG
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77),
you can specify certain properties for many cameras in one go. Either in order to speed up things, or
because the properties in question are shared by all cameras rather than being specific to individual
cameras.
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited. Note that all of the Frame Rate - MPEG properties can also be specified individually for each
camera (see "Recording" on page 105) using MPEG.
Name
Description
Template
The template can help you configure similar properties quickly. Say
you have 20 cameras and you want to change the recording path,
archiving path, and retention time for all of them. Instead of having
to enter the same three pieces of information 20 times, you can
simply enter them once in the template, and then apply the template
to the 20 cameras with only two clicks.
www.milestonesys.com
96
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Apply Template
Select which cameras you want to apply the template for. You then
use one of the two Set buttons to actually apply the template.
Tip: To select all cameras in the list, click the Select All button.
Camera Name
The name as it appears in the Management Application as well as
in clients. You can overwrite the existing name with a new one.
Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Dual Stream
Allows you to check if dual streaming is enabled on the camera(s).
Note that the information is read-only. For cameras that support
dual streaming, this can be enabled/disabled as part of individual
cameras' Video (on page 101) properties.
Live FPS
Select the camera's live frame rate per second (FPS).
Record Keyframe Only
Keyframes stored at specified intervals record the entire view of the
camera, whereas the following frames record only pixels that
change; this helps greatly reduce the size of MPEG files. Select the
check box if you only want to record keyframes.
Allows you to make exceptions if you have selected to record
keyframes only.

Motion Detection: Select this to record all frames when
motion is detected. Two seconds after the last motion (see
"Motion detection & exclude regions" on page 110) is
detected, the camera will return to recording keyframes
only.

Event: Select this to record all frames when an event
occurs and until another event occurs. Requires that events
have been defined, and that you select start and stop
events in the neighboring columns.
Record All Frames on
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you
can quickly do it: Use the Configure events list, located
below the other fields.

Motion Detection & Event: Select this to record all frames
when motion is detected, or when an event occurs and until
another event occurs. Remember to select start and stop
events in the neighboring columns.

Schedule only: Select this to record all frames according to
the camera's speedup schedule (see "Speedup" on page
156) only.
Start Event
Use when recording on Event or Motion Detection & Event.
Select required start event. The camera will begin recording all
frames when the start event occurs.
Stop Event
Select required stop event. The camera will again only recording
keyframes when the stop event occurs.
www.milestonesys.com
97
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Camera
Click the Open button to configure detailed and/or camera-specific
settings (such as event notification, PTZ preset positions, and
fisheye view areas) for the selected camera.
Select All
Click button to select all cameras in the Apply Template column.
Clear All
Click button to clear all selections in the Apply Template column.
Set selected template value on Apply only a selected value from the template to selected cameras.
selected cameras
Tip: To select more than one value press CTRL while selecting.
Set all template values on
selected cameras
Apply all values from the template to selected cameras.
Audio recording
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, you can determine whether audio should be recorded or not. Your choice applies
for all cameras on your XProtect Professional system.
Name
Description
Always
Always record audio on all applicable cameras.
Never
Never record audio on any cameras. Note that even though audio is
never recorded, it is still be possible to listen to live audio in the
Smart Client.
If you record audio, it is important that you note the following:

Audio recording affects video storage capacity: Audio is recorded to the associated camera’s
database. Therefore, it is important to bear in mind that the database is likely to become full
earlier if you record audio and video than if you only record video. The fact that the database
becomes full is not in itself a problem since XProtect Professional automatically archives (see
"About archiving" on page 143) data if the database becomes full. However, you may need
additional archiving space if you record audio.
o
Example: If you use MPEG4, each one-second video GOP (Group Of Pictures) will be
stored in one record in the database. Each second of audio will also be stored in one
record in the database. This reduces the database’s video storage capacity to half its
capacity, because half of the database’s records is used for storing audio. Consequently,
the database runs full sooner, and automatic archiving takes place more often than if you
were only recording video.
o
Example: If you use MJPEG, audio is stored in one record for every JPEG for as long as
the audio block size does not exceed the time between the JPEGs. In extreme cases, this
reduces the database’s video storage capacity to half its capacity, because half of the
database’s records is used for storing audio. If you use very high frame rates, which
means less time between each JPEG, a smaller portion of the database is used for storing
audio records, and consequently a larger portion is available for storing video. The result is
that the database runs full sooner, and automatic archiving takes place more often than if
you were only recording video.
www.milestonesys.com
98
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Above examples are simplified. The exact available video storage capacity also depends on
GOP/JPEG and audio kilobyte size.
Audio selection
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77),
you can specify certain properties for many cameras in one go. Either in order to speed up things, or
because the properties in question are shared by all cameras rather than being specific to individual
cameras.
With a default microphone and/or speaker selected for a camera, audio from the microphone and/or
speaker will automatically be used when video from the camera is viewed. Note that all of the
properties can also be specified individually for each camera.
Name
Description
Template
The template can help you configure similar properties quickly. Say
you have 20 cameras and you want to change the recording path,
archiving path, and retention time for all of them. Instead of having
to enter the same three pieces of information 20 times, you can
simply enter them once in the template, and then apply the template
to the 20 cameras with only two clicks.
Apply Template
Select which cameras you want to apply the template for. You then
use one of the two Set buttons to actually apply the template.
Tip: To select all cameras in the list, click the Select All button.
Camera Name
The name as it appears in the Management Application as well as
in clients. You can overwrite the existing name with a new one.
Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Select required default microphone.
Default Microphone
Tip: Note that you can select microphones or speakers attached to
another hardware device than the selected camera.
Default Speaker
Select required default speaker.
Camera
Click the Open button to configure detailed and/or camera-specific
settings (such as event notification, PTZ preset positions, and
fisheye view areas) for the selected camera.
Select All
Click button to select all cameras in the Apply Template column.
Clear All
Click button to clear all selections in the Apply Template column.
Set selected template value on Apply only a selected value from the template to selected cameras.
selected cameras
Tip: To select more than one value press CTRL while selecting.
Set all template values on
selected cameras
www.milestonesys.com
Apply all values from the template to selected cameras.
99
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Storage information
The storage information lets you view how much storage space you have on your XProtect
Professional system—and, not least, how much of it is free:
Name
Description
Drive
Letter representing the drive in question, for example C:.
Path
Path to where you save the files, for example C:\ or
\\OurServer\OurFolder\OurSubfolder\.
Usage
What the storage area is used for, for example recording or
archiving.
Drive Size
Total size of the drive.
Video Data
Amount of video data on the drive.
Other Data
Amount of other data on the drive.
Free Space
Amount of unused space left on the drive.
Tip: To quickly view disk space usage in a pie chart format, select the line representing the drive you
are interested in.
Camera properties
Properties in this window:
General .................................................................................................. 100
Video...................................................................................................... 101
Audio...................................................................................................... 104
Recording .............................................................................................. 105
Recording and archiving paths .............................................................. 106
Event notification ................................................................................... 109
Output .................................................................................................... 110
Motion detection & exclude regions ...................................................... 110
Privacy masking .................................................................................... 112
360° lens ................................................................................................ 112
Fisheye .................................................................................................. 113
PTZ preset positions .............................................................................. 115
PTZ patrolling ........................................................................................ 117
PTZ on event ......................................................................................... 120
General
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, properties include:
www.milestonesys.com
100
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Enabled
Cameras are by default enabled, meaning that provided they are
scheduled to be online (see "Online period" on page 155), they are
able to transfer video to XProtect Professional. If required, you can
disable an individual camera, in which case no video/audio will be
transferred from the camera source to XProtect Professional.
Camera Name
The name as it appears in the Management Application as well as
in clients. You can overwrite the existing name with a new one.
Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Users of the Smart Client can take advantage of keyboard
shortcuts, some of which let the users toggle between viewing
different cameras. Such shortcuts include numbers which are used
to identify each camera.
Camera shortcut number
Shortcut numbers must be unique for each camera. A camera
shortcut number must not contain any letters or special characters,
and must not be longer than eight digits. Examples of correct
camera shortcut numbers: 3, 12345678. Examples of incorrect
camera shortcut numbers: Cam#3, 123456789.
More information about using the keyboard shortcuts is available in
the separate documentation for the Smart Client.
These properties are to a large extent camera-specific. Since such properties vary from camera to
camera, descriptions in the following are for guidance only. If the selected camera is accessible, a live
preview is displayed. Click the Camera Settings... button to open a separate window with properties
for the selected camera.
The video properties typically let you control bandwidth, brightness, compression, contrast, resolution,
rotation, etc. by overwriting existing values of selecting new ones. When you adjust video settings, you
can—for most cameras—preview the effect of your settings in an image below the fields.
Video settings may feature an Include Date and Time setting. If set to Yes, date and time from the
camera will be included in video. Note, however, that cameras are separate units which may have
separate timing devices, power supplies, etc. Camera time and XProtect Professional system time
may therefore not correspond fully, and this may occasionally lead to confusion. As all frames are
time-stamped by XProtect Professional upon reception, and exact date and time information for each
image is already known, it is recommended that the setting is set to No.
Tip: For consistent time synchronization, you may—if supported by the camera—automatically
synchronize camera and system time through a time server.
Video
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, properties include:
If the camera uses MJPEG video format
With MJPEG, you can define frame rates for regular as well as speedup modes. If the camera offers
dual stream, you can also enable this:
www.milestonesys.com
101
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Regular frame rate mode:
Name
Description
Frame Rate
Required average frame rate for video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour).
Required average frame rate for live video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour).
Live Frame Rate
Recording Frame Rate
If the camera supports dual stream and dual stream is enabled, the
Live Frame Rate column will be read-only with the value Dual
streaming—which cannot be altered.
Required average frame rate for recorded video from the camera.
Select number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second,
minute or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
Speedup frame rate mode:
Name
Description
Enable speedup frame rate
The speedup feature lets you use a higher than normal frame rate if
motion is detected and/or an event occurs. When you enable
speedup, further columns for specifying speedup details become
available.
Frame Rate
Speedup frame rate for viewing video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
Live Frame Rate
Required average frame rate for live video from the camera. Select
number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second, minute
or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
If the camera supports dual stream and dual stream is enabled, the
Live Frame Rate column will be read-only with the value Dual
streaming—which cannot be altered.
Recording Frame Rate
Required average frame rate for recorded video from the camera.
Select number of frames, then select the time unit interval (second,
minute or hour). The frame rate must be higher than the frame rate
specified under normal mode.
On motion
Select this check box to use the speedup frame rates when motion
is detected. The camera will return to the normal frame rates two
seconds after the last motion is detected.
www.milestonesys.com
102
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
On event
Select this check box to use the speedup frame rates when an
event occurs and until another event occurs. Use of speedup on
event requires that events have been defined, and that you select
start and stop events in the neighboring lists.
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you can quickly
do it: Use the Configure events list, located below the other fields.
Start Event
Select required start event. The camera will begin using the
speedup frame rates when the start event occurs.
Stop Event
Select required stop event. The camera will return to the normal
frame rates when the stop event occurs.
Tip: Speedup does not necessarily have to be based on motion- or events, you can also use
scheduling (see "Speedup" on page 156) to configure speedup based on particular periods of time. If
you prefer such time-based speedup, you should still enable the use of speedup by selecting the
Enable speedup check box.
Dual stream:
This feature is only available on cameras supporting dual stream.
Name
Description
Enable dedicated live stream
This additional stream feature lets you use the alternative stream of
the camera. It enables two independent streams to the recording
server—a stream for live viewing and another stream for recording
purposes, with different resolution, encoding, and frame rate.
Stream
Select the type of the live stream. Stream settings for viewing live
video and for recording video may very well be different in order to
get the best result.
Resolution
Select the resolution of the camera.
FPS
Select the camera's live frame rate per second (FPS)
Why are there three different places where I can configure frame rates for video? The first, Live frame
rate, is for the regular recording stream. The second, Live frame rate, is for when speeding up
recordings in connection with motion detection or similar. And the third, FPS, is for the additional
stream used for live viewing.
If the camera uses MPEG video format
With MPEG, you can define frame rate and other settings:
Name
Description
Frame rate per second
Frame rate for viewing live and recorded video from the camera.
Select number of frames per second.
www.milestonesys.com
103
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Record keyframes only
Keyframes stored at specified intervals record the entire view of the
camera, whereas the following frames record only pixels that
change. This helps greatly reducing the size of MPEG files. Select
the check box if you only want to record keyframes. Note that you
can specify exceptions if motion is detected or events occur (see
the following).
Record all frames on motion
Allows you to make exceptions if you have selected to record
keyframes only. Select this check box to record all frames when
motion is detected. Two seconds after the last motion is detected,
the camera will return to recording keyframes only.
Record all frames on event
Allows you to make exceptions if you have selected to record
keyframes only. Select this check box to record all frames when an
event occurs and until another event occurs. Use of this feature
requires that events have been defined, and that you select start
and stop events in the neighboring lists.
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you can quickly
do it: Use the Configure events list, located below the other fields.
Start Event
Use when recording on Event or Motion Detection & Event.
Select required start event. The camera will begin recording all
frames when the start event occurs.
Stop Event
Select required stop event. The camera will again only recording
keyframes when the stop event occurs.
Dual stream:
This feature is only available on cameras supporting dual stream.
Name
Description
Enable dedicated live stream
This additional stream feature lets you use the alternative stream of
the camera. It enables two independent streams to the recording
server—a stream for live viewing and another stream for recording
purposes, with different resolution, encoding, and frame rate.
Stream
Select the type of the live stream. Stream settings for viewing live
video and for recording video may very well be different in order to
get the best result.
Resolution
Select the resolution of the camera.
FPS
Select the camera's live frame rate per second (FPS)
Audio
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, properties include the possibility of selecting a default microphone and/or
speaker for the camera.
www.milestonesys.com
104
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
With a default microphone and/or speaker selected for a camera, audio from the microphone and/or
speaker will automatically be used when video from the camera is viewed.
If a microphone and/or a speaker is attached to the same hardware device as the camera, that
microphone and/or speaker will be the camera's default microphone and/or speaker if you do not
select otherwise.
Name
Description
Select required default microphone.
Default Microphone
Tip: Note that you can select microphones or speakers attached to
another hardware device than the selected camera.
Default Speaker
Select required default speaker.
The ability to select a default microphone and/or speaker for the camera requires that at least one
microphone and/or speaker has been attached to a hardware device on the surveillance system.
Recording
In XProtect Professional, the term recording means saving video and, if applicable, audio from a
camera in the camera's database on the surveillance system server. Video/audio is often saved
only when there is a reason to do so, for example as long as motion is detected, when an event occurs
and until another event occurs, or within a certain period of time.
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, recording properties include:
Name
Description
Always
Record whenever the camera is enabled (see "General" on page
100) and scheduled to be online (see "Online period" on page 155)
(the latter allows for time-based recording).
Never
Never record. Live video will be displayed, but—since no video is
kept in the database—users will not be able to play back video from
the camera.
Record when certain conditions are met. When you select this
option, specify required conditions (see the following) which
enables you to store recordings from periods preceding and
following detected motion and/or specified events.
Conditionally
Built-in motion detection
www.milestonesys.com
Example: If you have defined that video should be stored when a
door is opened, being able to see what happened immediately prior
to the door being opened may also be important. Say you have
specified that video should be stored conditionally on event, with a
start event called Door Opened and a stop event called Door
Closed. With three seconds of pre-recording, video will be recorded
from three seconds before Door Opened occurs and until Door
Closed occurs
Select this check box to record video in which motion (see "Motion
detection & exclude regions" on page 110) is detected. Unless postrecording (see the following) is used, recording will stop
immediately after the last motion is detected.
105
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
On event
Select this check box to record video when an event occurs and
until another event occurs. Use of recording on event requires that
events have been defined, and that you select start and stop events
in the neighboring lists.
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you can quickly
do it: Use the Configure events list, located below the other fields.
Start Event
Select required start event. Recording will begin when the start
event occurs (or earlier if using pre-recording; see the following).
Stop Event
Select required stop event. Recording will end when the stop event
occurs (or later if using post-recording; see the following).
Enable pre-recording
Available only when the option Conditional is selected. Specify the
number of seconds for which you want to record video from before
recording start conditions (that is motion or start event) are met.
Enable post-recording
Available only when the option Conditional is selected. Specify the
number of seconds for which you want to record video after
recording stop conditions (that is motion end or stop event) are met.
How does pre- and post-recording work? XProtect Professional receives video in a continuous
stream from the camera whenever the camera is enabled and scheduled to be online. This is what lets
you view live video, but it also means that XProtect Professional can easily store received video for a
number of seconds in its memory (a.k.a. buffering). If it turns out that the buffered video is needed for
pre- or post-recording, it is automatically appended to the recording. If not, it is simply discarded.
Note that manual recording (on page 92) may be enabled. With manual recording, Smart Client users
with the necessary rights (see "Configure user and group rights" on page 179) can manually start
recording if they see something of interest while viewing live video from a camera which is not already
recording. If enabled, manual recording can take place even if recording for individual cameras is set
to Never or Conditionally.
Recording and archiving paths
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, properties include:
www.milestonesys.com
106
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Path to the folder in which the camera's database should be stored.
Default is C:\MediaDatabase. To browse for another folder, click the
browse icon next to the required cell. You can only specify a path to
a folder on a local drive. You cannot specify a path to a network
drive. If you use a network drive, it is not be possible to save
recordings if the network drive becomes unavailable.
Recording Path
If you change the recording path, and you have existing recordings
at the old location, you are asked whether you want to move the
recordings to the new location (recommended), leave them at the
old location, or delete them.
Tip: If you have several cameras, and several local drives are
available, you can improve performance by distributing individual
cameras' databases across several drives.
Click button to delete all recordings in the database for the camera.
Archived recordings will not be affected.
Delete Database
IMPORTANT: Use with caution. All recordings in the database for
the camera will be permanently deleted. As a security measure, you
will be asked to confirm the deletion.
Only editable if not using dynamic paths for archiving (see "About
archiving" on page 143). Path to the folder in which the camera's
archived recordings should be stored. Default is C:\MediaDatabase.
Archiving Path
Delete Archives
To browse for another folder, click the browse icon next to the
required cell. You can specify a path to a local or network drive. If
you change the archiving path, and there are existing archived
recordings at the old location, you will be asked whether you want
to move the archived recordings to the new location
(recommended), leave them at the old location, or delete them.
Note that if you move archived recordings, XProtect Professional
will also archive what is currently in the camera database. In case
you wonder why the camera database is empty just after you have
moved archived recordings, this is the reason.
Click button to delete all archived recordings for the camera.
Recordings in the camera's regular database will not be affected.
The ability to delete is available regardless of whether you use a
single archiving path or dynamic archiving paths.
MPORTANT: Use with caution. All archived recordings for the
camera will be permanently deleted. As a security measure, you will
be asked to confirm the deletion.
www.milestonesys.com
107
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Total amount of time for which you want to keep recordings from
the camera (that is recordings in the camera's database as well as
any archived recordings). Default is 30 days.
Retention Time
Note that the retention time covers the total amount of time you
want to keep recordings for. In earlier XProtect Professional
versions, time limits were specified separately for the database and
archives.
Select which action to take if the database becomes corrupted:

Repair, scan, delete if fails: Default action. If the database
becomes corrupted, two different repair methods will be
attempted: a fast repair and a thorough repair. If both repair
methods fail, the contents of the database will be deleted.

Repair, delete if fails: If the database becomes corrupted,
a fast repair will be attempted. If the fast repair fails, the
contents of the database will be deleted.

Repair, archive if fails: If the database becomes corrupted,
a fast repair will be attempted. If the fast repair fails, the
contents of the database will be archived.

Delete (no repair): If the database becomes corrupted, the
contents of the database will be deleted.

Archive (no repair): If the database becomes corrupted,
the contents of the database will be archived.
Database Repair Action
If you choose an action to repair a corrupt database, this corrupt
database is closed while it is repaired. Instead, a new database is
created to allow recordings to continue.
Why archive a corrupt database? Provided the corrupt database
has been archived, it can often be repaired by the Smart Client. So
when you open the corrupt database in the Smart Client, the Smart
Client will repair it automatically if at all possible.
Tip: There are several things you can do to prevent that your
databases become corrupt in the first place. See Protect recording
databases from corruption (see "About protecting recording
databases from corruption" on page 210).
Configure Dynamic Paths
www.milestonesys.com
With dynamic archiving paths, you specify a number of different
archiving paths, usually across several drives. If the drive
containing the camera's database is among the path you have
selected for dynamic archiving, XProtect Professional will always try
to archive to that path first. If not, XProtect Professional
automatically archives to the archiving drive with the most available
space at any time, provided there is not a camera database using
that drive. See also Dynamic path selection (on page 86).
108
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Event notification
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, properties include event notification:
About event notifications
Event notification lets you inform Smart Client users that an event has occurred on the XProtect
Professional system. Event notification can be valuable for client users, as they will be able to quickly
detect that an event has occurred, even though their focus was perhaps on something else the
moment the event occurred.
Tip: Even though event notification is configured separately for each camera, you can select between
all events on your XProtect Professional system, regardless whether events are manual, generic, or
originate on another hardware device than the camera itself.
In the Smart Client, event notification is given by a yellow indicator which lights up when a relevant
event has taken place. An optional sound on event notification can furthermore be configured in the
Smart Client itself.
In the clients, three differently colored indicators are available for
each camera:

The yellow event indicator. When event notification is used
for a camera, the yellow indicator will light up when a relevant
event has occurred.

A red motion indicator; lights up when motion has been
detected.

An optional green video indicator; lights up when video is
received from the camera.
In the Smart Client, all three indicators are in effect optional since the
blue bar in which the indicators are displayed can be turned off in the
Smart Client. If Smart Client users in your organization are going to
rely on event notification, make sure they do not switch the blue bars
off.
How to select required events
1. In the Available events list, select the required event. It is only possible to select one event at
a time.
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you can quickly do it: Use the Configure
events list, located below the other fields.
2. Click the >> button to copy the selected event to the Selected Events list.
3. Repeat for each required event.
www.milestonesys.com
109
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
If you later want to remove an event from the Selected Events list, simply select the event in question,
and click the << button.
Output
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, you can also associate a camera with particular hardware output (see "Add a
hardware output" on page 127), for example the sounding of a siren or the switching on of lights.
Associated output can then be activated automatically when motion is detected in video from the
camera, or manually when Smart Client users with the necessary rights (see "Configure user and
group rights" on page 179) view live video from the camera.
1. In the Available output list, select the required output. It is only possible to select one output
at a time.
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable output, you can quickly do it: Use the Configure
Output button, located below the other fields.
Tip: Even though output is configured separately for each camera, you can select between all
output on your XProtect Professional system, regardless whether output originates on another
hardware device than the camera itself.
2. Click the >> button to copy the selected output to the:
o
On manual activation list, in which case the output will be available for manual activation
in the Smart Client.
- and/or -
o
On motion detected list, in which case the output will be activated when motion is
detected in video from the camera.
If required, the same output can appear on both lists.
3. Repeat for each required output.
If you later want to remove an output from the one of the lists, select the output in question, and click
the << button.
Motion detection & exclude regions
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, adjusting motion detection is important because it may determine when video
from the camera is recorded, when e-mail notifications are generated, when hardware output (such as
lights or sirens) is activated, etc. Time spent on finding the best possible motion detection settings for
each camera may help you later avoid unnecessary recordings, notifications, etc. Depending on the
physical location of the camera, it may be a very good idea to test motion detection under different
physical conditions (day/night, windy/calm weather, etc.).
Before you configure motion detection for a camera, you should configure the camera's video
properties (see "General" on page 100), such as compression, resolution, etc.
Cameras that do not support multiple simultaneous video streams cannot connect to the surveillance
server and the Management Application at the same time. Therefore, we recommended stopping (see
"Start and stop services" on page 184) the Recording Server service when configuring such devices
www.milestonesys.com
110
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
for motion detection and PTZ. See also View video from cameras in Management Application (on
page 213).
Name
Description
Enable
Lets you enable or disable (see "About motion detection settings"
on page 78) the built-in motion detection.
Show grid
Lets you toggle the grid on and off. Toggling the grid off may
provide a less obscured view of the preview image; selection of
areas which should be excluded from motion detection takes place
the same way as when the grid is visible. When on, the preview
image will be divided into small sections by a grid. To define areas
which should be excluded from motion detection, drag the mouse
over the areas in the preview image while pressing the mouse
button down. Left mouse button selects a grid section; right mouse
button clears a grid section. Selected areas are highlighted in blue.
Include All
Lets you quickly select all grid sections in the preview image. This
can be useful if you want to exclude motion detection in most areas
of the image, in which case you can simply clear the few sections in
which you do not want to exclude motion detection.
Exclude All
Lets you quickly clear all grid sections in the preview image.
Sensitivity
Determines how much each pixel must change before it is regarded
as motion. With a high sensitivity, very little change in a pixel is
required before it is regarded as motion. Areas in which motion is
detected are highlighted in green in the preview image. Select a
slider position in which only detections you consider motion are
highlighted. The more you drag the slider to the left, the more of the
preview image becomes highlighted. This is because with a high
sensitivity even the slightest change in a pixel will be regarded as
motion. As an alternative to using the slider, you may specify a
value between 0 and 256 in the field next to the slider to control the
sensitivity setting.
Adjust the Motion slider so that motion detection is only triggered
by the required level of motion. The selected motion level is
indicated by the black vertical line in the Level bar above the
sliders. The black vertical line serves as a threshold. When motion
is above (to the right of) the selected level, the bar changes color
from green to red, indicating a positive motion detection.
Motion
Alternatively, specify a value between 0 and 10000 in the field on
the left to control the motion setting.
The more you drag the slider to the left, the more positive motion
detections you see because less change will be needed to trigger a
positive motion detection. The number of positive motion detections
may also affect the amount of video you record, the amount of
notifications you receive, etc.
Keyframe Only
www.milestonesys.com
If you want motion detection to take place only on keyframes of the
video stream to reduce the system resources used on motion
detection, select Keyframe only.
111
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Detection interval
Specify how often motion detection analysis is carried out on video
from the camera. The default is every 240 milliseconds (close to
once a quarter of a second). The interval is applied regardless of
your cameras' frame rate settings.
Adjusting this setting can help lower the amount of system
resources used on motion detection.
Detection resolution
Specify whether the full image or a selected percentage of the
image should be analyzed. For example, by specifying 25%, every
fourth pixel is analyzed instead of all pixels, reducing the system
resources used but also offering less accurate motion detection.
Privacy masking
Ask yourself whether there are any areas of the camera image that must be masked from viewing. For
example, if the camera points in a way so that it catches the window of a private building, the privacy
of the residents must be respected. In that case, you can mask areas of the image by configuring the
settings below.
Name
Description
Enable
Enable the Privacy Masking feature.
Show grid
Toggle the grid on and off. Toggling the grid off may provide a less
obscured view of the preview image; selection of areas which
should be excluded from privacy masking takes place the same
way as when the grid is visible. When on, the preview image will be
divided into small sections by a grid. To define areas which should
be excluded from privacy masking, drag the mouse over the areas
in the preview image while pressing the mouse button down. Left
mouse button selects a grid section; right mouse button clears a
grid section. Selected areas are highlighted in red.
Show privacy mask
Toggle the red area indicating privacy masking on and off. Toggling
the red area off may provide a less obscured view of the preview
image.
Clear
Clear the privacy masking.
360° lens
360° lens technology allows you to view 360° panoramic video through an advanced lens. If a camera
is going to use 360° lens technology, you must enable the technology and, in some cases, enter a
special license key.
Name
Description
Enable 360° lens
Select check box to enable use of the 360° lens technology and to
be able to specify further properties.
www.milestonesys.com
112
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Enable panomorph support
Select to enable panomorph support. Panomorph is an advanced
technology can provide high resolution in zones of interest, while at
the same time using fewer pixels than conventional fisheye
solutions. In the list, also select whether the camera is located in
the ceiling, on a wall or on ground level.
Immervision Enables®
panomorph RPL number
When enabling the panomorph support functionality, you must also
select a Registered Panomorph Lens (RPL) number from the
ImmerVision Enables® panomorph RPL number list. This is to
ensure identification and correct configuration of the lens used with
the camera in question. The RPL number is usually found on the
lens itself or on the box it came in.
If you, at some point, want to add additional types of lenses, go to
File and select Import new lens types. Locate the .xml file that
contains information about the lens type and press OK.
For details of ImmerVison, panomorph lenses, and RPLs, see
http://www.immervision.com/en/home/index.php
(http://www.immervision.com/en/home/index.php).
Enable fisheye support
Select to enable fisheye support. Fisheye technology uses a wideangle lens to capture a hemispherical image, which can then be dewarped through configured fisheye settings (see "Fisheye" on page
113) for the camera in question.
License key
If required, enter your special fisheye license key and click OK, after
which it will be possible to configure fisheye settings for camera(s)
attached to the hardware device.
Do I need the special fisheye license key, and where do I get it? Contact your XProtect Professional
vendor for further information.
Fisheye
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, fisheye properties may be available. Fisheye is a technology that allows viewing
of 360-degree panoramic video through an advanced lens.
You will not see the fisheye properties until certain conditions are met: The camera must be either a
dedicated fisheye camera or be equipped with a special fisheye lens. A special fisheye license key is
also required; you enter the key when you configure the hardware device (see "Configure hardware
devices" on page 74) to which the fisheye camera is attached.
www.milestonesys.com
113
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
You configure the camera's fisheye functionality by adjusting its fisheye view field, indicated by a
green circle in the fisheye view, until the circle encloses the actual image area of the fisheye lens.
Your settings are then used by the fisheye technology for converting the circular fisheye view into a
flattened rectangular view.
Name
Description
Ceiling mount
If the camera is mounted on a ceiling, you can adjust properties to
reflect this by selecting the check box.
Resolution
Resolution values are automatically displayed above the fisheye
image. When using fisheye, resolution will automatically be set to
the highest possible value.
X radius
Controls the horizontal (X) radius of the green circle. Move the
slider to the left for a narrower circle, or to the right for a wider
circle. Alternatively, specify a value between 0 and 800 in the field
next to the slider. 0 corresponds to the slider's leftmost position,
800 corresponds to the slider's rightmost position.
Milestone Recording Server
service
A vital part of the surveillance system. Video streams are only
transferred to XProtect Professional while the Recording Server
service is running.
X center
Controls the horizontal (X) position of the green circle. Move the
slider to the left or right as required. Alternatively, specify a value
between 0 and 800 in the field next to the slider.
Y center
Controls the vertical (Y) position of the green circle. Move the slider
to the left in order to move the circle up, or to the right in order to
move the circle down. Alternatively, specify a value between 0 and
800 in the field next to the slider.
Enable preview
Toggle between viewing the circular fisheye view and the flattened
rectangular view resulting from your settings. When you preview the
flattened view, the following navigation buttons become available
for moving around within the flattened view.
Set as Home
Use after navigating to a suitable viewpoint using the navigation
buttons. Sets the current viewpoint as home position (that is default
position), so that when client users viewing the camera click their
clients' Home button, their view of the camera changes to that
position.
Button
Description
Moves the flattened view up
www.milestonesys.com
114
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Moves the flattened view up and to the left
Moves the flattened view up and to the right
Moves the flattened view to the left
Moves the flattened view to its home position (that is default position)
Moves the flattened view to the right
Moves the flattened view down and to the left
Moves the flattened view down
Moves the flattened view down and to the right
Zooms out (one zoom level per click)
Zooms in (one zoom level per click)
PTZ preset positions
PTZ-related properties are only available when you are dealing with a PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) camera.
PTZ preset positions can be used for making the PTZ camera automatically go to a particular position
when particular events occur, and when setting up PTZ patrolling profiles. Preset positions also
become selectable in clients, allowing users with required rights (see "Configure user and group
rights" on page 179) to move the PTZ camera between preset positions.
Names of preset positions must contain only the characters A-Z, a-z and the digits 0-9. If you import
preset positions from cameras (see the following), verify that their names do not contain other
characters. If they do, change the preset position names before you import them.
Restart services (see "Start and stop services" on page 184) after having made changes to PTZ
settings.
Cameras that do not support multiple simultaneous video streams cannot connect to the surveillance
server and the Management Application at the same time. Therefore, we recommended stopping (see
"Start and stop services" on page 184) the Recording Server service when configuring such devices
for motion detection and PTZ. See also View video from cameras in Management Application (on
page 213).
www.milestonesys.com
115
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Your configuration options depend on the type of PTZ camera in
question:

Type 1 (stored on server): You define preset positions by
moving the camera using the controls (see "Move PTZ type
1 and 3 to required positions" on page 83) in the upper half
of the window, then storing each required position on the
XProtect Professional server. You can define up to 260
preset positions this way.

Type 2 (imported from camera): You import preset positions
which have previously been defined and stored on the PTZ
camera itself through the camera's own configuration
interface. The number of allowed preset positions depends
on the PTZ camera and driver used.

Type 3 (stored on camera): You define preset positions by
moving the camera with the controls (see "Move PTZ type 1
and 3 to required positions" on page 83) in the upper half of
the window, then storing each required position in the
camera's own memory. You can define up to 260 preset
positions this way. If preset positions have already been
defined for the camera, you can simply import them for use
with XProtect Professional.
PTZ type
Import / Refresh
Add New
Only available when you have selected PTZ type 2 or 3. Lets you
import already defined preset positions from the camera's memory
for use with XProtect Professional. If you have already imported
preset positions this way, and preset positions have since then
been added or changed on the camera, you can use this button to
refresh the imported preset positions.
Only available when you have selected PTZ type 1. When you have
move the camera to a required position using the controls in the
upper half of the window, type a name for the position in the blank
field, then click the button to add the position to the list of defined
preset positions.
Remember that names of preset positions must contain only the
characters A-Z, a-z and the digits 0-9.
Set New Position
www.milestonesys.com
Only available when you have selected PTZ type 1 or 3. Lets you
change an already defined preset position. In the list, select the
preset position you want to change. Then move the camera to the
new required position using the controls in the upper half of the
window. Then click the button to overwrite the old position with the
new one.
116
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Only available when you have selected PTZ type 1 or 3. Lets you
delete an already defined preset. In the list, select the preset
position you want to delete, then click the button.
Delete
Before you delete a preset position, make sure it is not used in PTZ
patrolling or PTZ on event. Since the preset positions are stored on
the camera, you can bring a deleted preset position back into
XProtect Professional by clicking the Import / refresh button. If you
bring back a preset position this way, and the preset position is to
be used in PTZ patrolling or PTZ on event, you must manually
configure PTZ patrolling and/or PTZ on event to use the preset
position again.
Test
Lets you try out a preset position. In the list, select the preset
position you want to test, then click the button to view the camera
move to the selected position.
PTZ control wheel
Lets you move a preset position selected in the list up and down
respectively. The selected preset position is moved one step per
click. By moving preset positions up or down, you can control the
sequence in which preset positions are presented in clients.
PTZ patrolling
PTZ-related properties are only available when you are dealing with a PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) camera.
PTZ patrolling is the continuous movement of a PTZ camera between a number of preset positions
(see "PTZ preset positions" on page 115). To use patrolling, you should normally have specified at
least two preset positions for the PTZ camera in question.
To configure PTZ patrolling, you basically select a patrolling profile in the Patrolling profiles list, then
specify required properties to define the exact behavior of the patrolling profile.
Tip: Although it is technically not patrolling, specifying a patrolling profile with only one preset position
is possible. A patrolling profile with only one preset position can, when combined with scheduling, be
useful in two cases: For moving a PTZ camera to a specific position at a specific time, and for moving
a PTZ camera to a specific position upon manual control of the PTZ camera.
Restart services (see "Start and stop services" on page 184) after having made changes to PTZ
settings. When you have defined your patrolling profiles, also remember to schedule (see "PTZ
patrolling" on page 156) the use of patrolling profiles. Bear in mind that patrolling can be overridden if
users (with the required rights (see "Configure user and group rights" on page 179)) manually operate
PTZ cameras.
Cameras that do not support multiple simultaneous video streams cannot connect to the surveillance
server and the Management Application at the same time. Therefore, we recommended stopping (see
"Start and stop services" on page 184) the Recording Server service when configuring such devices
for motion detection and PTZ. See also View video from cameras in Management Application (on
page 213).
www.milestonesys.com
117
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Patrolling profiles
A PTZ camera may patrol according to several different patrolling profiles. For example, a PTZ camera
in a supermarket may patrol according to one patrolling profile during opening hours, and according to
another patrolling profile when the supermarket is closed. The Patrolling profiles list lets you select
which patrolling profile to configure.

Add New: Lets you add a new patrolling profile to the list. When you add a new patrolling
profile, you can either give it a unique name, or reuse an existing name from another PTZ
camera with PTZ patrolling.
Using several identically named patrolling profiles can be advantageous when you later
configure scheduling. Example: If you have configured patrolling profiles identically named
Night Patrolling on 25 different cameras, you can schedule the use of Night Patrolling on all 25
cameras in one go, even though Night Patrolling covers individual preset positions on each of
the 25 cameras.

Delete: Lets you delete an existing patrolling profile. Note that the selected patrolling profile will
be removed from the list without further warning.
There are already some patrolling profiles listed, why? Names of patrolling profile defined for other
cameras can be reused. This allows you to use a single patrolling profile name across several PTZ
cameras, and this can make scheduling (see "PTZ patrolling" on page 156) of PTZ patrolling much
easier. Despite the fact that several PTZ cameras share a patrolling profile name, the movement
between preset positions is of course individual for each camera.
Preset positions to use in a patrolling profile
Having selected a patrolling profile in the Patrolling profiles list, you can specify which of the PTZ
camera's preset positions should be used for the selected patrolling scheme:
1. In the Preset Positions list, select the preset positions you want to use. A preset position can
be used more than once in a patrol scheme, for example if the preset position covers an
especially important location.
Tip: By pressing the CTRL button on your keyboard while selecting from the Preset Positions
list, you can select several or all of list's preset positions in one go.
2. Click the
button to copy the selected preset positions to the Patrolling list.
3. The camera will move between preset positions in the sequence they appear in the Patrolling
list, starting at the preset position listed first. If you want to change the sequence of preset
positions in the Preset Positions list, select a preset position, and use the
or
buttons to
move the selected preset position up or down in the list. The selected preset position is moved
one step per click.
If you later want to remove a preset position from the Patrolling list, select the preset position in
question, and click the
button.
www.milestonesys.com
118
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Wait and transition timing for a patrolling profile
ame
Description
Wait time (sec.)
Lets you specify the number of seconds for which the PTZ camera
should stay at each preset position before it moves on to the next
preset position. Default is 10 seconds. The wait time applies to all
presets in the patrolling profile, that is the PTZ camera will stay at
each preset position for the same number of seconds.
Transition time (sec.): Lets you specify the number of seconds
required for the PTZ camera to move from one preset position to
another. Default is five seconds. During this transition time, motion
detection is automatically disabled, as irrelevant motion is otherwise
likely to be detected while the camera moves between the preset
positions. After the specified number of seconds, motion detection
is automatically enabled again.
Transition time (sec.)
The transition time applies to all presets in the patrolling profile. It is
thus important that the camera is able to reach between any of the
patrolling profile's preset positions within the number of seconds
you specify. If not, false motion is likely to be detected. Bear in mind
that it takes longer for the PTZ camera to move between positions
that are located physically far apart (for example from an extreme
left position to an extreme right position) than between positions
that are located physically close together.
Tip: Note that wait time and transition time settings are tied to the selected patrolling profile. This
allows you the flexibility of having different wait time and transition time settings for different patrolling
profiles on the same camera.
PTZ scanning
PTZ scanning (continuous panning) is supported on a few PTZ cameras only.

PTZ scanning: Only available if your camera supports PTZ scanning. Lets you enable PTZ
scanning and select a PTZ scanning speed from the list below the check box.
Note that PTZ scanning only works for PTZ type 1 cameras (where preset positions are configured
and stored on the XProtect Professional server). If the camera is a PTZ type 2 camera, and you import
preset positions which have previously been defined and stored on the PTZ camera itself through the
camera's own configuration interface, PTZ scanning will stop working. For more information about PTZ
types, see PTZ preset positions (on page 115).
Pause PTZ patrolling
PTZ patrolling is automatically paused when the camera is operated manually as well as if PTZ on
Event (on page 120) is used. PTZ patrolling can also be paused if motion is detected.
Tip: Note that pause settings are tied to the selected patrolling profile. This allows you the flexibility of
having different pause settings for different patrolling profiles on the same camera.
Pause patrolling if motion is detected
To pause PTZ patrolling when motion is detected, so that the PTZ camera will remain at the position
where motion was detected for a specified period of time, do the following:
www.milestonesys.com
119
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
1. Select the Pause patrolling if motion is detected check box.
2. Select whether the PTZ camera should resume patrolling:
o
After a certain number of seconds has passed since first detection of motion, regardless
whether further motion is detected
- or -
o
After a certain number of seconds has passed without further detection of motion
3. Specify the required number of seconds for the selected option (default is ten and five seconds
respectively).
Unless transition time (see the previous information under Wait and Transition Timing ...) is
set to zero, motion detection is automatically disabled while the camera moves between preset
positions, as irrelevant motion is otherwise likely to be detected while the camera moves
between the preset positions.
Resume PTZ patrolling
PTZ patrolling is automatically paused when the camera is operated manually as well as if PTZ on
Event is used. You can specify how many seconds should pass before the regular patrolling is
resumed after a manual or event-based interruption. Default is 30 seconds.
Users of the Smart Client are—in addition to manual control—able to stop a selected PTZ camera's
patrolling entirely. This takes place through a context menu in the Smart Client view. For Smart Client
users, the number of seconds specified in the Patrolling settings section therefore only applies when
users manually control a PTZ camera; not when users stop a PTZ camera's patrolling entirely. When
Smart Client users stop a PTZ camera's patrolling entirely, the camera's patrolling will resume only
when the Smart Client user selects to resume it.
PTZ on event
PTZ-related properties are only available when you are dealing with a PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) camera.
When a PTZ camera supports preset positions (see "PTZ preset positions" on page 115), it is possible
to make the PTZ camera automatically go to a particular preset position when a particular event
occurs.
When associating events with preset positions on a PTZ camera, you can select between all events
defined on your XProtect Professional system; you are not limited to selecting events defined on a
particular hardware device.
1. In the Events list in the left side of the window, select the required event.
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you can quickly do it: Use the Configure
events list, located below the other fields.
2. In the PTZ Preset Position list in the right side of the window, select the required preset
position.
For this purpose, you can only use an event once per PTZ camera. However, different events
can be used for making the PTZ camera go to the same preset position. Example:
o
Event 1 makes the PTZ camera go to preset position A
o
Event 2 makes the PTZ camera go to preset position B
www.milestonesys.com
120
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
o
Administrator's Manual
Event 3 makes the PTZ camera go to preset position A
If later you want to end the association between a particular event and a particular preset position,
clear the field containing the event.
After you have made the PTZ setting changes, restart services (see "Start and stop services" on page
184).
Cameras that do not support multiple simultaneous video streams cannot connect to the surveillance
server and the Management Application at the same time. Therefore, we recommended stopping (see
"Start and stop services" on page 184) the Recording Server service when configuring such devices
for motion detection and PTZ. See also View video from cameras in Management Application (on
page 213).
Audio
About recording audio
If you record audio, it is important that you note the following:

Only audio from microphones is recorded. Only incoming audio, that is audio recorded by
microphones attached to hardware devices, is recorded. Outgoing audio, that is what
operators say when they talk through speakers attached to hardware devices, is not recorded.

Audio recording affects video storage capacity. Audio is recorded to the associated camera’s
database. Therefore, it is important to bear in mind that the database is likely to become full
earlier if you record audio and video than if you only record video. The fact that the database
becomes full is not in itself a problem since XProtect Professional automatically archives (see
"About archiving" on page 143) data if the database becomes full. However, you may need
additional archiving space if you record audio.
o
Example: If you use MPEG4, each one-second video GOP (Group Of Pictures) will be
stored in one record in the database. Each second of audio will also be stored in one
record in the database. This reduces the database’s video storage capacity to half its
capacity, because half of the database’s records is used for storing audio. Consequently,
the database runs full sooner, and automatic archiving takes place more often than if you
were only recording video.
o
Example: If you use MJPEG, audio is stored in one record for every JPEG for as long as
the audio block size does not exceed the time between the JPEGs. In extreme cases, this
reduces the database’s video storage capacity to half its capacity, because half of the
database’s records is used for storing audio. If you use very high frame rates, which
means less time between each JPEG, a smaller portion of the database is used for storing
audio records, and consequently a larger portion is available for storing video. The result is
that the database runs full sooner, and automatic archiving takes place more often than if
you were only recording video.
The above examples are simplified. The exact available video storage capacity also depends on
GOP/JPEG and audio kilobyte size.
www.milestonesys.com
121
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Speakers
About speakers
Speakers are attached to devices, and therefore also typically physically located next to cameras.
They can typically transmit information to people near a camera. Operators, with the necessary rights,
can talk through such speakers using their Smart Clients (provided the computer running the Smart
Client has a microphone attached).
Example: An elevator is stuck. Through a camera mounted in the elevator, Smart Client operators can
see that there is an elderly lady in the elevator. A microphone attached to the camera records that the
lady says: “I am afraid; please help me out!” Through a speaker attached to the camera, operators can
tell the lady that: “Help is on its way; you should be out in less than fifteen minutes.”
Show or hide microphone and/or speaker
If you have added more microphone and/or speaker to your XProtect Professional system than you
need, you can hide the ones you do not need by right-clicking the relevant microphone and/or speaker
and select Hide. If you need the hidden microphone again, you can right-click the overall microphone
and/or speaker icon and select Show Hidden Items.
Speaker properties
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, you can determine when audio should be recorded or not. Your choice applies
for all cameras on your XProtect Professional system.
Name
Description
Enabled
Speakers are by default enabled, meaning that they are able to
transfer audio to XProtect Professional. If required, you can disable
an individual speaker, in which case no audio will be transferred
from the speaker to XProtect Professional.
Speaker name
The name as it appears in the Management Application as well as
in clients. You can overwrite the existing name with a new one.
Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Microphones
About microphones
Microphones are attached to hardware devices, and therefore typically physically located next to
cameras. They can typically record what people near a camera are saying. Operators, with the
necessary rights, can then listen to these recordings through their Smart Clients (provided the
computer running the Smart Client has speakers attached).
www.milestonesys.com
122
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
When you manage microphones in XProtect Professional, you can always manage the microphones
attached to cameras; not microphones attached to Smart Client operators' computers.
If you have added more microphones and speakers to your XProtect Professional system than you
need, you can hide the ones you do not need by right-clicking the relevant microphone and/or speaker
and select Hide. If you need the hidden microphone again, you can right-click the overall microphone
and/or speaker icon and select Show Hidden Items.
Configure microphones or speakers
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, expand
Hardware Devices, and expand the hardware device to which the relevant microphones or
speakers is attached.
2. Right-click the required microphones or speakers, and select Properties.
3. Specify properties (see "Speaker properties" on page 122) as required.
Configuration of microphones or speakers in XProtect Professional is very basic. Settings such as
volume, etc. are controlled on the microphones or speakers units themselves.
Show or hide microphone and/or speaker
If you have added more microphone and/or speaker to your XProtect Professional system than you
need, you can hide the ones you do not need by right-clicking the relevant microphone and/or speaker
and select Hide. If you need the hidden microphone again, you can right-click the overall microphone
and/or speaker icon and select Show Hidden Items.
Microphone properties
When you configure video and recording (see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77)
for specific cameras, you can determine when audio should be recorded or not. Your choice applies
for all cameras on your XProtect Professional system.
Microphone properties
Enabled
Microphones/speaker are by default enabled, meaning that they are
able to transfer audio to XProtect Professional. If required, you can
disable an individual microphone/speaker, in which case no audio
will be transferred from the microphone/speaker to XProtect
Professional.
Microphone/speaker name
The name as it appears in the Management Application as well as
in clients. You can overwrite the existing name with a new one.
Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
On some hardware devices, audio can also be enabled/disabled on the hardware device itself,
typically through the hardware device's own configuration web page. If audio on a hardware device
does not work after enabling it in the Management Application, you should verify whether the problem
may be due to audio being disabled on the hardware device itself.
www.milestonesys.com
123
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Recording settings
Name
Description
Always
Always record audio on all applicable cameras.
Follow video
Record audio only when video is recorded.
Never
Never record audio on any cameras. Note that even though audio is
never recorded, it is still be possible to listen to live audio in the
Smart Client.
Events and output
About input and output
Hardware input, such as door sensors, can be attached to input ports on hardware devices. Input
from such external hardware input units can be used for generating events in XProtect Professional.
Hardware output units can be attached to output ports on many hardware devices, allowing you to
activate lights, sirens, and more from XProtect Professional. Such hardware output can be activated
automatically by events, or manually from clients.
Before you specify use of hardware input and hardware output units on a hardware device, verify that
sensor operation is recognized by the hardware device. Most hardware devices are capable of
showing this in their configuration interfaces, or via CGI script commands. Also check the XProtect
Professional release notes to verify that input and output controlled operations are supported for the
hardware device and firmware used.
You do not have to configure hardware input units separately, any hardware input units connected to
hardware devices are automatically detected when you add the hardware devices to XProtect
Professional. The same goes for hardware output, but hardware output does require some simple
configuration in XProtect Professional.
If you want to configure hardware output and automatically trigger output when events occur, so
that, for example, lights are switched on when a door is opened or when motion is detected in video,
see Add a hardware output (on page 127) and Configure hardware output on event (on page 130).
About events and output
Events and output of various types can be used for automatically triggering actions in XProtect
Professional. Examples of actions: starting or stopping recording on cameras, switching to a particular
video frame rate, triggering e-mail and/or SMS notifications, making PTZ cameras move to specific
preset positions, etc. Events can also be used for activating hardware output.
You can also configure events and output to generate alarms (see "About alarms" on page 192).
Events can be divided in to:

Internal events (system-related): for example, motion, server responding/not responding,
archiving problems, lack of disk space, etc.
www.milestonesys.com
124
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1

Administrator's Manual
External events (integrated): for example, MIP plug-in events.
Overview of events and output
Types of events:
Name
Description
Analytics events can be used as alarms and integrated seamlessly
with the Alarms feature (see "About alarms" on page 192).
Analytics events:
Analytics events (see "Overview of events and output" on page
125) are typically data received from external third-party video
content analysis (VCA) (see "VCA" on page 222) providers. An
example of a VCA-based system could be an access control
system.
Hardware input, such as door sensors, can be attached to input
ports on hardware devices. Input from such external hardware input
units can be used for generating events in XProtect Professional.
Events based on input from hardware input units attached to
hardware devices are called hardware input events.
Hardware input events:
Some hardware devices have their own capabilities for detecting
motion, for detecting moving and/or static objects, etc. (configured
in the hardware devices' own software; typically by accessing a
browser-based configuration interface on the hardware device's IP
address). When this is the case, XProtect Professional considers
such detections as input from the hardware, and you can use such
detections as input events as well.
Lastly, hardware input events can be based on XProtect
Professional detecting motion in video from a camera, based on
motion detection settings in XProtect Professional.
This type of hardware input events is also called system motion
detection events or VMD (Video Motion Detection) events. In earlier
XProtect Professional versions, VMD events were an event type of
their own; now they are simply considered a type of hardware input
event.
Hardware output:
www.milestonesys.com
Hardware output units can be attached to output ports on many
hardware devices, allowing you to activate lights, sirens, and more
from XProtect Professional. Such hardware output can be activated
automatically by events, or manually from clients.
125
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Events may be generated manually by the users selecting them in
their clients. These events are called manual events.
Manual events can be of the type Global events or Timer events:
Manual events:
Global events apply to all hardware whereas timer events are
separate events, triggered by the hardware input event, manual
event or generic event under which they are defined. Timer events
occur a specified number of seconds or minutes after the event,
under which they are defined, has occurred. Timer events may be
used for a wide variety of purposes, typically for stopping previously
triggered actions.
Example:
A camera starts recording based on a hardware input event, for
example when a door is opened; a timer event stops the recording
after 15 seconds.
Generic events:
Input may also be received in the form of TCP or UDP data
packages, which can be analyzed by XProtect Professional, and—if
they match specified criteria—used to generate events. Such
events are called generic events.
Hardware output can be activated automatically when events occur.
For example, when a door is opened (hardware input event), lights
are switched on (hardware output).
Output control on event:
When configuring the output control, you can select between all
output and events defined in XProtect Professional. You are not
limited to selecting output or events defined on particular hardware
devices. You can use a single event for activating more than one
output.
Before you configure events of any type, configure general event handling, such as which ports
XProtect Professional should use for event data. Normally, you can just use the default values, but it is
a good idea to verify that your organization is not already using the ports for other purposes. See
Configure general event handling (on page 130).
Before you specify use of hardware input and hardware output units on a hardware device, verify that
sensor operation is recognized by the hardware device. Most hardware devices are capable of
showing this in their configuration interfaces, or via CGI script commands. Also check the XProtect
Professional release notes to verify that input and output controlled operations are supported for the
hardware device and firmware used.
You do not have to configure hardware input units separately, any hardware input units connected to
hardware devices are automatically detected when you add the hardware devices to XProtect
Professional. The same goes for hardware output, but hardware output does require some simple
configuration in XProtect Professional.
If you want to configure hardware output and automatically trigger output when events occur, so
that, for example, lights are switched on when a door is opened or when motion is detected in video,
see Add a hardware output (on page 127) and Configure hardware output on event (on page 130).
When you are ready to configure events, see Add a hardware input event (on page 127), Add a
generic event (on page 129), and Add a manual event (on page 128). If you want to use timer events
with your other events, see Add a timer event (on page 129).
www.milestonesys.com
126
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Add an analytics event
To add an analytics event, do the following:
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Events and Output, right-click
Analytics Events and select Create New.
2. Specify required properties (see "Analytics event" on page 133).
3. Click OK.
4. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Add a hardware input event
With hardware input events, you can turn input received from input units attached to hardware devices
into events in XProtect Professional.
Before you specify input for a hardware device, verify that sensor operation is recognized by the
hardware device. Most hardware devices are capable of showing this in their configuration interfaces,
or via CGI script commands. Also check the release notes to verify that input-controlled operation is
supported for the hardware device and firmware used.
To add and/or configure a hardware input event, do the following:
1. In the Management Application navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, then
expand Events and Output. Right-click Hardware Input Events and select Enable New
Input Event.
2. In the Hardware Input Event Properties window's list of hardware devices, expand the
required hardware device to see a list of pre-defined hardware input.
3. Select the required types of input to use them as events. The types of input often vary from
camera to camera. If motion detection (see "Motion detection & exclude regions" on page 110)
is enabled in XProtect Professional for the camera in question, note the input type System
Motion Detection, which lets you turn detected motion in the camera's video stream into an
event. In earlier XProtect Professional versions, this was known as a VMD event.
Note that some types of input are mutually exclusive. When you select one type of input, you
may therefore note that other types of input become unavailable for selection.
4. For each selected type of input, select required properties (see "Hardware input event" on
page 135). When ready, click OK, or click the Add button to add a timer event (on page 129)
to the event you have just created.
5. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Add a hardware output
With hardware output, you can add external output units, such as lights, sirens, door openers, etc., to
your XProtect Professional system. Once added, output can be activated automatically by events or
detected motion, or manually by client users.
www.milestonesys.com
127
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Before you specify output, verify that sensor operation is recognized by the hardware device with
which you are going to use the output. Most hardware devices are capable of showing this in their
configuration interfaces, or via CGI script commands. Also check the release notes to verify that
output-controlled operation is supported for the hardware device and firmware used.
To add a hardware output event, do the following:
1. In the Management Application navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, then
expand Events and Output. Right-click Hardware Output and select Add New Output.
2. In the Hardware Output Properties window's list of hardware devices, select the required
hardware device, and click the Add button below the list.
3. Specify required properties (see "Hardware input event" on page 135).
4. Click OK.
5. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
For information about how to configure automatic activation of hardware output when events occur,
see Configure hardware output on event (on page 130). You configure output for manual activation in
clients as well as for automatic activation on detected motion individually for each camera (see
"Output" on page 110).
Add a manual event
With manual events, your users with required rights (see "Configure user and group rights" on page
179) can trigger events manually from their clients. Manual events can be global (shared by all
cameras) or tied to a particular camera (only available when the camera is selected). You can use
manual events for a wide variety of purposes, for example:

As start and stop events for use when scheduling cameras' online periods (see "Online period"
on page 155). For example, you can make a camera start or stop transferring video to the
surveillance system based on a manual event.

As start and stop events for controlling other camera settings. For example, you can make a
camera use a higher frame rate based on a manual event or you can use a manual event for
triggering PTZ on event (on page 120).

For triggering output. Particular output can be associated (see "Configure hardware output on
event" on page 130) with manual events.

For triggering event-based e-mail and/or SMS notifications.

In combinations. For example, a manual event could make a camera start transferring video to
the surveillance system while an output is triggered and an e-mail notification is sent to
relevant people.
To add a manual event, do the following:
1. In the Management Application navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, then
expand Events and Output. Right-click Manual Events and select Add New Manual Event
2. In the list in the left side of the Manual Event Properties, select global or a camera as
required.
www.milestonesys.com
128
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
3. Click the add button and specify required properties (see "Hardware input event" on page
135). When ready, click OK, or click the Add button again to add a timer event (on page 129)
to the event you have just created.
4. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Add a generic event
XProtect Professional can analyze received TCP and/or UDP data packages, and automatically trigger
events when specified criteria are met. This way, you can easily integrate your XProtect Professional
surveillance system with a very wide range of external sources, for example access control systems
and alarm systems and more. Events based on the analysis of received TCP and/or UDP packets are
called generic events.
1. In the Management Application navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, then
expand Events and Output. Right-click Generic Events and select Add New Generic
Event.
2. In the Generic Event Properties window, click the Add button, and specify required properties
(see "Generic event" on page 138). When ready, click OK, or click the Add button to add a
timer event to the event you have just created.
3. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Generate alarms based on analytics events
Generating alarms based on analytics events is normally a three-step process:
1. Enable the analytics events feature and set up its security. A list of allowed addresses can be
used to control who can send event data to the system and on which port the server listens.
2. Create the analytics event, possibly with a description of the event, and test it.
3. Use the analytics event as the source of an alarm definition (see "Alarms definition" on page
195).
As indicated, to use VCA-based events (see "VCA" on page 222), most often a third-party VCA tool is
required for supplying data to XProtect Professional. Which VCA tool to use is entirely up to you, as
long as the data supplied by the tool adheres to the applied formatting rules described in the Milestone
Analytics Events Developers Manual. Contact Milestone for more details.
Add a timer event
Timer events are separate events, triggered by the type of event under which they are defined. Timer
events occur a specified number of seconds or minutes after the event under which they are defined
has occurred. Timer events may be used for a wide variety of purposes, typically for stopping
previously triggered actions. Examples:

A camera starts recording based on a hardware input event, for example when a door is
opened; a timer event stops the recording after 15 seconds
www.milestonesys.com
129
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1

Administrator's Manual
Lights are switched on and a camera starts recording based on a manual event; a timer event
stops the recording after one minute, and another timer event switches the lights off after two
minutes
To add a timer event, select any event you have previously configured, click the Add button, and
specify required properties (see "Timer event" on page 138). XProtect Professional comes with two
simple schedule profiles, Always on and Always off, which cannot be edited or deleted. If these do
not meet your needs, you can create any number of customized schedule profiles for each camera.
When you create a customized schedule profile for one camera, you can reuse it with other cameras if
required. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Tip: You can add as many timer events as required under an event. This way, you can, for example,
make one timer event trigger something 10 seconds after the main event, another timer event trigger
something else 30 seconds after the main event, and a third timer event trigger something else 2
minutes after the main event.
Configure hardware output on event
Once you have added hardware output (see "Add a hardware output" on page 127), such as lights,
sirens, door openers, etc., you can associate the hardware output with events. This way, particular
hardware output can be activated automatically when events occur. Example: When a door is opened
(hardware input event), lights are switched on (hardware output).
When making the associations, you can select between all output and events defined on your
XProtect Professional server; you are not limited to selecting output or events defined on particular
hardware devices.
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, then
expand Events and Output. Right-click Output Control on Event and select Properties.
2. Fill in the relevant properties (see "Output control on event (Events and Output-specific
properties)" on page 142).
3. Click OK.
4. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
You can use a single event for activating more than one output.
You cannot delete associations, but you can change your selections or select None in both columns
as required.
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable event or output, you can quickly do it: Use the Configure
events list and/or Configure Output... button, located below the list of associations.
Configure general event handling
Before configuring events of any type, configure general event handling, such as which ports XProtect
Professional should use for event data. Normally, you can just use the default values, but it is a good
idea to verify that your organization is not already using the ports for other purposes.
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick Events and Output, and select Properties.
www.milestonesys.com
130
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
2. Specify required properties (see "Ports and polling" on page 133). XProtect Professional
comes with two simple schedule profiles, Always on and Always off, which cannot be edited
or deleted. If these do not meet your needs, you can create any number of customized
schedule profiles for each camera. When you create a customized schedule profile for one
camera, you can reuse it with other cameras if required.
3. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Test a generic event
If you have added a generic event, a quick and easy way to test your generic event is to first set up an
event notification and then use Telnet to send a small amount of data which will trigger the generic
event and in turn the event notification.
For this example, we have created a generic event called Video. Our generic event specifies that if the
term video appears in a received TCP data package, the generic event should be triggered. Your
generic event may be different, but you can still use the principles outlined in the following:
1. In the Management Application navigation pane, expand Advanced Configurations, then
expand Cameras and Storage Information, right-click a camera to which you have access in
the Smart Client, and select Properties.
2. Select Event Notification and select the required generic event. XProtect Professional comes
with two simple schedule profiles, Always on and Always off, which cannot be edited or
deleted. If these do not meet your needs, you can create any number of customized schedule
profiles for each camera. When you create a customized schedule profile for one camera, you
can reuse it with other cameras if required.
Make sure that your generic event is the only event appearing in the Selected Events list
while you are performing the test, otherwise you cannot be sure that it is your generic event
which triggers the event notification. Once you are done testing, you can move any temporarily
removed events back to the Selected Events list.
3. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button in the
Management Application toolbar.
4. Make sure the Recording Server service is running. Also make sure that the camera for which
you just configured the event notification is displayed in your Smart Client, and that you have
camera title bars enabled in your Smart Client so that you can see the yellow event indicator.
5. In Windows' Start menu, select Run..., and type the following in the Open field:
o
If you are performing the test on the XProtect Professional server itself:
telnet localhost 1234
o
If you are performing the test from a remote computer: Substitute localhost with the
IP address of the XProtect Professional server. Example: If the IP address of the XProtect
Professional server is 123.123.123.123, type:
telnet 123.123.123.123 1234
This will open a Telnet window.
In the above examples, the number 1234 indicates the port on which the XProtect Professional
server listens for generic events. Port 1234 is the default port for this purpose, but it is possible
www.milestonesys.com
131
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
to change this by specifying another port number as part of the general event handling
configuration (see "Configure general event handling" on page 130). If the alert and generic
event port number has been changed on your system, type your system's alert and generic
event port number instead of 1234.
6. In the Telnet window, type the terms (so-called event substring) required to trigger your
generic event. In our case, a single term, video, is required:
While you type in the Telnet window, you may experience so-called echo. This is the server
repeating some or all of the characters it receives. It will not have any impact as long as you
are sure you type the required characters.
7. Close the Telnet window . It is important that you close the window, since your input is not
sent to the surveillance system until you close the window.
8. Go to your Smart Client. If the yellow event indicator lights up for the required camera, your
generic event works as intended.:
What is Telnet? Telnet is a terminal emulation program used on TCP/IP networks. With Telnet,
you can connect to a server from a computer on the network, and execute commands through
Telnet as if you were entering them directly on the server. Windows includes a client for use
with Telnet.
www.milestonesys.com
132
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
General event properties
Ports and polling
The General Event Properties window lets you specify network settings to be used in connection with
event handling.
Name
Description
Alert and generic event port
Specify port number to use for handling events , including generic
events. Default port is port 1234.
SMTP event port
Specify port number to use for sending event information from
hardware devices to XProtect Professional via SMTP. Default port
is port 25.
FTP event port
Port to use for FTP communication with the hardware device.
Default port is port 21.
Polling interval [1/10] second
For a small number of hardware devices, primarily dedicated
input/output devices (see "About dedicated input/output devices" on
page 73), it is necessary for XProtect Professional to regularly
check the state of the hardware devices' input ports in order to
detect input. Such state checking at regular intervals is called
polling. You can specify (in tenths of a second) the interval between
state checks. Default value is 10 tenths of a second (that is one
second). For dedicated input/output devices, it is highly
recommended that the polling frequency is set to the lowest
possible value (one tenth of a second between state checks). For
information about which hardware devices require polling, see the
release note.
Events and output properties
Properties in this window:
Analytics event ...................................................................................... 133
Hardware input event ............................................................................ 135
Hardware output .................................................................................... 137
Manual event ......................................................................................... 137
Timer event ............................................................................................ 138
Generic event ........................................................................................ 138
Output control on event (Events and Output-specific properties) ......... 142
Analytics event
When you configure analytics events (see "Add an analytics event" on page 127), specify the
following:
www.milestonesys.com
133
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Name
Type a name for the event.
Description
Enter a description (optional).
Test the validity of the event by clicking this button (optional).
Test Event
Tip: You can carry out this test at any step of the analytics event
creation/editing process and as many times as you wish.
When you click Test Event, a window opens which goes through a number of conditions that must be
met for analytics events to work. The window consists of two tabs: Tasks and Errors.
The Tasks tab lists the conditions that are tested and mark them failed:
tab shows a list of errors corresponding to any failed conditions.
or success:
. The Errors
Remember to save any changes made during the test.
When done, check the presence of your test event in the Smart Client's Alarm list. Sort by type Test
Alarm to make your test event appear at the top of the Alarm list. See the Smart Client
documentation for more details.
Conditions
Description
Changes saved
Save changes before testing
If the event is new, is it saved? Or if
there are changes to the event name, analytics event. Solution/Explanation:
are these changes saved?
Save changes.
Analytics Events
enabled
Is the Analytics Event feature
enabled?
Address allowed
Error messages and solutions
Analytics events have not been
enabled. Solution/Explanation: Enable
the Analytics Events feature.
Is the IP address/host name of the
machine sending the event(s)
allowed (listed on the analytics
events address list)?
The local host name must be added
as allowed address for the Analytics
Event service. Solution/Explanation:
Add your machine to the analytics events
address list (of allowed IP
addresses/host names).
Error resolving the local host name.
Solution/Explanation: The IP
address/host name of the machine
cannot be found or is invalid.
Analytics event
used in alarm
definition
Analytics event is not used in any
Is the analytics event used actively in alarm definition. Solution/Explanation:
any alarm definitions?
Use the analytics event in an alarm
definition.
Send analytics
event
Did sending a test event to the Event See table below.
Server succeed?
Error messages and solutions for the condition Send analytics event:
www.milestonesys.com
134
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Error messages
Solution/Explanation
Event Server not found.
Unable to find the Event Server service on the list of registered
services.
Error connecting to Event
Server.
Unable to connect to the Event Server service on the defined port
(most likely due to network problems, the Event Server service
being stopped or similar).
Connection to the Event Server service established but event
Error sending analytics event. cannot be sent (most likely due to network problems, for example
time out).
Event sent to Event Server but no reply received (most likely due
Error receiving response from to network problems or port being busy (see the Event Server log,
Event Server.
typically located at ProgramData\Milestone\XProtect Event
Server\logs\—can be opened in Microsoft Notepad or similar tool)).
Analytics event unknown by
Event Server.
The Event Server service does not know the event most likely due
to the event—or changes to the event—not having been saved.
Invalid analytics event
received by Event Server.
Event format is somehow incorrect.
Sender unauthorized by Event Most likely your machine is not on the list of allowed IP
Server.
addresses/host names.
Internal error in Event Server.
An Event Server error. Open the Event Server log in Microsoft
Notepad or similar tool. The log is typically located at
ProgramData\Milestone\XProtect Event Server\logs\
Invalid response received
from Event Server.
Response is invalid. Possibly due to port being busy or network
problems Open the Event Server log in Microsoft Notepad or similar
tool. The log is typically located at ProgramData\Milestone\XProtect
Event Server\logs\
Unknown response from
Event Server.
Response is valid but not understood. Possibly due to port being
busy or network problems. Open the Event Server log in Microsoft
Notepad or similar tool. The log is typically located at
ProgramData\Milestone\XProtect Event Server\logs\
Unexpected error.
Please contact your system provider Milestone Support
([email protected]) for help.
Hardware input event
When you add hardware input events (see "Add a hardware input event" on page 127), some
properties depend on the selected type of input:
Name
Description
Enable
Select check box to use selected type of input as an event in
XProtect Professional, and specify further properties.
www.milestonesys.com
135
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Specify a name. Names must be unique, and must not contain any
of these special characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Event name
Some cameras only support event names of a certain length and/or
with a certain structure. Refer to the camera's documentation for
exact details.
Images from camera
Only relevant if using pre- and post-alarm images, a feature
available for selected cameras only; it enables sending of images
from immediately before an event took place from the camera to the
surveillance system via e-mail. Pre- and post-alarm images should
not be confused the pre- and post-recording feature (see
"Recording" on page 105) particular to XProtect Professional. Lets
you select which camera you want to receive pre- and/or post-alarm
images from.
Number of pre-alarm images
Only relevant if using pre-alarm images, a feature available for
selected cameras only. Specify required number of pre-alarm
images. Allowed number may differ from camera to camera;
allowed range is displayed to the right of the field.
Frames per second
Only relevant if using pre-alarm images, a feature available for
selected cameras only. Specify required frame rate. Used in
combination with the Number of pre-alarm images field, this field
indirectly allows you to control how long before the event you want
to receive pre-alarm images from.
Send e-mail if this event
occurs
Only available if e-mail notification (see "Configure e-mail
notifications" on page 165) is enabled. Select if XProtect
Professional should automatically send an e-mail when the event
occurs. Recipients are defined as part of the e-mail notification
configuration. When using e-mail notifications, also bear in mind
individual cameras' scheduling (see "E-mail notification" on page
156).
Attach image from camera
Only available if e-mail notification (see "Configure e-mail
notifications" on page 165) is enabled. Select to include an image—
recorded at the time the event is triggered—in the e-mail
notification, then select the required camera in the list next to the
check box.
Only available if SMS notification (see "Configure SMS
notifications" on page 168) is enabled. Select if XProtect
Professional should automatically send an SMS when the event
Send SMS if this event occurs occurs. Recipients are defined as part of the SMS notification
configuration. When using SMS notifications, also bear in mind
individual cameras' scheduling (see "SMS notification" on page
156).
Delete
Delete a selected event.
Add
When a specific hardware input event is selected, clicking Add will
add a timer event (on page 129) to the selected hardware input
event.
www.milestonesys.com
136
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Hardware output
When you add hardware output (see "Add a hardware output" on page 127), specify the following
properties:
Name
Description
Output name
Specify a name. If you are going to make the hardware output
available for manual activation in clients, this is the name that client
users will see. Names must be unique, and must not contain any of
these special characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Some cameras only support event names of a certain length
and/or with a certain structure. Refer to the camera's
documentation for exact details.
Output connected to
Select which of the hardware device's output ports the output is
connected to. Many hardware devices only have a single output
port; in that case simply select Output 1.
Lets you specify the amount of time for which the output should be
applied. Specify the required amount of time in either 1/10 seconds
or seconds.
Keep output for
Some hardware devices are only able to apply output for a
relatively short time, for example for up to five seconds.
Refer to the documentation for the hardware device in
question for exact information.
Tip: To verify that your hardware output works, click the Test Output button.
Manual event
When you add manual events (see "Add a manual event" on page 128), specify the following
properties:
Name
Description
[List of defined global events
and cameras]
Contains a Global node and a list of all defined cameras. You can
configure as many manual events as required, no matter whether
they are global or camera-specific. A + sign next to the Global node
indicates that one or more global manual events have already been
configured. A + sign next to a camera indicates that one or more
manual events have already been configured for that camera.
Specify a name. Names must be unique, and must not contain any
of these special characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Event name
www.milestonesys.com
Some cameras only support event names of a certain length and/or
with a certain structure. Refer to the camera's documentation for
exact details.
137
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Send e-mail if this event
occurs
Only available if e-mail notification (see "Configure e-mail
notifications" on page 165) is enabled. Select if XProtect
Professional should automatically send an e-mail when the event
occurs. Recipients are defined as part of the e-mail notification
configuration. When using e-mail notifications, also bear in mind
individual cameras' scheduling (see "E-mail notification" on page
156).
Attach image from camera
Only available if e-mail notification (see "Configure e-mail
notifications" on page 165) is enabled. Select to include an image—
recorded at the time the event is triggered—in the e-mail
notification, then select the required camera in the list next to the
check box.
Only available if SMS notification (see "Configure SMS
notifications" on page 168) is enabled. Select if XProtect
Professional should automatically send an SMS when the event
Send SMS if this event occurs occurs. Recipients are defined as part of the SMS notification
configuration. When using SMS notifications, also bear in mind
individual cameras' scheduling (see "SMS notification" on page
156).
Delete
Delete a selected event.
Add
Add a new event. When Global or a specific camera is selected,
clicking Add will add a new manual event. When a specific manual
event is selected, clicking Add will add a timer event (on page 129)
to the selected manual event.
Timer event
When you add timer events (see "Add a timer event" on page 129), specify the following properties:
Name
Description
Specify a name. Names must be unique, and must not contain any
of these special characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Timer event name
Timer event occurs after
Some cameras only support event names of a certain length
and/or with a certain structure. Refer to the camera's
documentation for exact details.
Specify the amount of time that should pass between the main
event occurring and the timer event (in seconds or minutes).
Generic event
When you add generic events (see "Test a generic event" on page 131), specify the following
properties:
www.milestonesys.com
138
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Specify a name. Names must be unique, and must not contain any
of these special characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Event name
Event port
Some cameras only support event names of a certain length and/or
with a certain structure. Refer to the camera's documentation for
exact details.
Read-only field displaying the port number on which XProtect
Professional listens for generic events (default is port 1234). The
port number can be changed as part of the general event handling
configuration (see "Configure general event handling" on page
130).
Lets you specify the individual items for which XProtect
Professional should look out for when analyzing data packages.
Specify one or more terms, then click the Add button to add the
specified term(s) to the Event message expression field, the content
of which will be used for the actual analysis. Examples:
Event substring

Single term: User001 (when added to the Event message
expression field, the term will appear as "User001")

Several terms as one item: User001 Door053 Sunday
(when added to the Event message expression field, the
terms will appear as " User001 Door053 Sunday")
When you add several terms as one item (appearing as, for
example, " User001 Door053 Sunday" in the Event message
expression field), everything between the quotation marks must
appear together in the package, in the specified sequence, in order
to match your criterion. If the terms must appear in the package, but
not necessarily in any exact sequence, add the terms one by one
(that is so they will appear as "User001" "Door053" "Sunday" in the
Event message expression field).
Tip: It is OK for TCP and UDP packages used for generic events to
contain special characters, such as @, #, +, 㪠~, etc. within the text
string to be analyzed.
www.milestonesys.com
139
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Displays the string which will be used for the actual package
analysis. The field is not directly editable. However, you can
position the cursor inside the field in order to determine where a
new item should be included when you click the Add button or one
of the parenthesis or operator buttons described in the following.
Likewise, you can position the cursor inside the field in order to
determine where an item should be removed when clicking the
Remove button: The item immediately to the left of the cursor will
be removed when you click the Remove button.

(: Lets you add a start parenthesis character to the Event
message expression field. Parentheses can be used to
ensure that related terms are processed together as a
logical unit; in other words, they can be used to force a
certain processing order in the analysis. Example: If using
("User001" OR "Door053") AND "Sunday", the two terms
inside the parenthesis will be processed first, then the result
will be combined with the last part of the string. In other
words, XProtect Professional will first look for any packages
containing either of the terms User001 or Door053, then it
will take the results and run through them in order to see
which packages also contain the term Sunday.

): Lets you add an end parenthesis character to the Event
message expression field.

AND: Lets you add an AND operator to the Event message
expression field. With an AND operator, you specify that the
terms on both sides of the AND operator must be present.
Example: If using User001 AND Door053 AND Sunday, the
term User001 as well as the term Door053 as well as the
term Sunday must be present in order for the criterion to be
met. It is not enough for only one or two of the terms to be
present. As a rule of thumb, the more terms you combine
with AND, the fewer results you will retrieve:
Event message expression
Combinations with AND yields few results
(indicated in red)

www.milestonesys.com
OR: Lets you add an OR operator to the Event message
expression field. With an OR operator, you specify that
configuration
either one or 140
another term must beAdvanced
present. Example:
If
using User001 OR Door053 OR Sunday, the term User001
or the term Door053 or the term Sunday must be present in
order for the criterion to be met. The criterion is satisfied
even if only one of the terms is present. As a rule of thumb,
the more terms you combine with OR, the more results you
will retrieve:
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Event priority
The same data package may be analyzed for different events. The
ability to assign a priority to each event lets you manage which
event should be triggered if a received package matches the criteria
for several events. The priority must be specified as a number
between 0 (lowest priority) and 1000 (highest priority). When
XProtect Professional receives a TCP and/or UDP package,
analysis of the packet will start with analysis for the event with the
highest priority. This way, when a package matches the criteria for
several events, only the event with the highest priority will be
triggered. If a package matches the criteria for several events with
an identical priority, for example two events with a priority of 999, all
events with the priority in question will be triggered.
Select which protocol XProtect Professional should listen for in
order to detect the event:
Event protocol

Any: Listen for, and analyze, packages using TCP as well
as UDP protocol.

TCP: Listen for, and analyze, packages using TCP protocol
only.

UDP: Listen for, and analyze, packages using UDP protocol
only.
Select how particular XProtect Professional should be when
analyzing received data packages:

Search: In order for the event to occur, the received
package must contain the message specified in the Event
message expression field, but may also have more content.
Example: If you have specified that the received package
should contain the terms "User001" and "Door053", the
event will be triggered if the received package contains the
terms "User001" and "Door053" and "Sunday" since your
two required terms are contained in the received package.

Match: In order for the event to occur, the received package
must contain exactly the message specified in the Event
message expression field, and nothing else.
Event rule type
Send e-mail if this event
occurs
Only available if e-mail notification (see "Configure e-mail
notifications" on page 165) is enabled. Select if XProtect
Professional should automatically send an e-mail when the event
occurs. Recipients are defined as part of the e-mail notification
configuration. When using e-mail notifications, also bear in mind
individual cameras' scheduling (see "E-mail notification" on page
156).
Attach image from camera
Only available if e-mail notification (see "Configure e-mail
notifications" on page 165) is enabled. Select to include an image—
recorded at the time the event is triggered—in the e-mail
notification, then select the required camera in the list next to the
check box.
www.milestonesys.com
141
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Only available if SMS notification (see "Configure SMS
notifications" on page 168) is enabled. Select if XProtect
Professional should automatically send an SMS when the event
Send SMS if this event occurs occurs. Recipients are defined as part of the SMS notification
configuration. When using SMS notifications, also bear in mind
individual cameras' scheduling (see "SMS notification" on page
156).
Delete
Delete a selected event.
Add
Add a new event. When the Generic Events node is selected,
clicking Add will add a new generic event. When a specific generic
event is selected, clicking Add will add a timer event (on page 129)
to the selected generic event.
Output control on event (Events and Output-specific properties)
When you add output controls on events (see "Configure hardware output on event" on page 130),
specify the following properties:
Name
Description
Event
Select the required event.
Output
Select the required output event.
Scheduling and archiving
About scheduling
The scheduling feature lets you specify:

When you want to archive (see "About archiving" on page 143)

That some cameras transfer video to XProtect Professional at all times

That some cameras transfer video only within specific periods of time or when specific events
occur

When you want to receive notifications from the system
You can set up general scheduling properties for all your cameras or individual properties per camera.
You can set up when:

One or more cameras should be online (that is transfer video to XProtect Professional)
www.milestonesys.com
142
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual

One of more cameras should use speedup (that is use a higher than normal frame rate)

You want to receive any e-mail and/or SMS notifications regarding one or more cameras.

Archiving takes place.

PTZ cameras should patrol, and according to which patrolling profile
About archiving
Archiving is an integrated and automated feature in XProtect Professional with which recordings are
moved to free up space for new recordings. By default, recordings are stored in the XProtect
Professional database for each camera. The database for each camera is capable of containing a
maximum of 600,000 records or 40 GB. XProtect Professional automatically archives (see "About
archiving" on page 143) recordings if a camera's database becomes full. Consequently, having
sufficient archiving space is important.
You do not have to do anything to enable archiving. It runs in the background and is automatically
enabled and carried out from the moment XProtect Professional is installed. The most recent
recordings are saved on a local storage in order to prevent network-related problems in the saving
process.
The default settings for XProtect Professional is to perform archiving once a day, or if your database
becomes full. You can change the settings (see "Archiving" on page 154) for when and how often
archiving takes place in the Management Application. You can also schedule archiving (see "About
archiving schedules" on page 149) up to 24 times a day, with a minimum of one hour between each
one. This way, you can proactively archive recordings, so databases will never become full. Basically,
the more you expect to record, the more often you should archive.
You can also change the retention time, which is the total amount of time you want to keep recordings
from a camera (recordings in the camera's database as well as any archived recordings) under the
properties of the individual camera.
XProtect Professional automatically archives recordings if a camera's database becomes full. You only
specify one time limit (the retention time) as part of the general Recording and Archiving paths (on
page 84) properties. Note that retention time will determine when archiving takes place. Retention time
is the total amount of time for which you want to keep recordings from a camera (that is recordings in
the camera's database as well as any archived recordings).
Backup of archives
Creating backups based on the content of camera databases is not recommended as it may cause
sharing violations or other malfunctions. Instead, create backups based on the content of archives. If
you have not specified separate archiving locations for separate cameras, you could back up the
default local archiving directory, Archives.
Important: When you schedule a backup, make sure the backup job does not overlap with any
scheduled archiving times.
If archiving fails
Under rare circumstances, archiving may fail, for example due to network problems. However, in
XProtect Professional this does not pose a threat. XProtect Professional creates a new database and
continues archiving in this new database. You can work with—and view—both this new database and
the old one like any other databases.
www.milestonesys.com
143
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
About archiving locations
The default archiving folder (see "Configure default file paths" on page 212) (C:\MediaDatabase) is
located on the XProtect Professional server. You can change the default archiving folder to any other
location locally, or select a location on a network drive to use as the default archiving folder. In the
archiving folder, separate subfolders for storing archives for each camera are automatically created.
These subfolders are named after the MAC address of the hardware device to which the camera is
connected.
Because you can keep archives spanning many days of recordings and archiving may take place
several times per day, further subfolders, named with the archiving date and time, are also
automatically created.
The subfolders are named according to the following structure:
...\Archives\CameraMACAddress_VideoEncoderChannel\DateAndTime
If the video encoder does not have several channels, the video encoder channel will always be _1
(example: 00408c51e181_1).
Example: an archiving at 23.15 on 31st December 2012 for a camera with the MAC address
00408c51e181 attached to channel 2 would be stored:
C:\MediaDatabase\Archives\00408c51e181_2\2012-12-31-23-15
Before configuring archiving (see "About archiving" on page 143) locations, consider whether you want
to use static or dynamic archiving paths:

Static archiving paths mean that for a particular camera, archiving will take place to a
particular location, and to that location only. Static archiving paths are in principle individual for
each camera, but they do not have to be unique: several cameras can easily use the same
path if required.
You can configure static archiving paths for individual cameras, or as part of the general
Recording and archiving paths properties.
o
Individual cameras: In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand
Advanced Configuration, expand Cameras and Storage Information, double-click the
required camera, select Recording & Archiving Paths, and specify required properties
(see "Recording and archiving paths" on page 106).
o
General Recording and Archiving Paths: In the Management Application 's navigation
pane, expand Advanced Configuration, double-click Cameras and Storage
Information, and specify required properties (see "Recording and archiving paths" on
page 84).
Tip: If several cameras should use the same path, use the general Recording & Archiving
Paths properties. There you get a template feature which lets you specify shared archiving
locations in just a few clicks.

Dynamic archiving paths allow greater flexibility, and are highly recommended. With dynamic
archiving paths, you specify a number of different archiving paths, usually across several
drives. If the path containing the camera database to be archived is on one of the drives you
have selected for dynamic archiving, XProtect Professional will always try to archive to that
drive first. If not, XProtect Professional automatically archives to the archiving drive with the
most available space at any time, provided there is not a camera database using that drive.
This fact will have no impact on how users find and view archived recordings.
www.milestonesys.com
144
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Dynamic archiving paths are general for all your cameras; you cannot configure dynamic
archiving paths for individual cameras.
To configure archiving paths: In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand
Advanced Configuration, double-click Cameras and Storage Information, select Dynamic
Path Selection - Archives, and specify required properties (see "Dynamic path selection" on
page 86).
If you configure your cameras through the Configure video and recording wizard (see "The Configure
Video and Recording wizard" on page 56), the wizard also lets you configure archiving paths.
About archiving to other locations
When you archive to other locations than the default archiving directory, XProtect Professional will first
temporarily store the archive in the local default archiving directory, then immediately move the archive
to the archiving location you have specified.
Archiving directly to a network drive can mean that archiving time varies depending on the available
bandwidth on the network. First storing the archive locally, then moving it speeds up the archiving
procedure, and reduces delays in case of network problems.
If you archive to a network drive, the regular camera database can only be stored on a local drive
attached directly to the XProtect Professional server.
About dynamic archive paths
With dynamic archiving paths, you specify a number of different archiving paths, usually across
several drives. Using dynamic paths is recommended and is the default setting when you configure
cameras through the Configure video & recording wizard (see "About video and recording
configuration" on page 77).
If the path containing the camera's database is on one of the drives you have selected for dynamic
archiving, XProtect Professional will always try to archive to that drive first. If not, XProtect
Professional automatically archives to the archiving drive with the most available space at any time,
provided a camera database is not using that drive.
The drive that has the most available space may change during the archiving process, and archiving
may therefore happen to several archiving drives during the same process. This will have no impact
on how users find and view archived recordings.
Dynamic archiving paths are general for all your cameras; you cannot configure dynamic archiving
paths for individual cameras.
When deciding which drives to use for dynamic archiving, consider the pros and cons in the following
examples (in which we assume that the default archiving path (see "Configure default file paths" on
page 212) is on drive C:—drive letters are examples only, different drive letters may of course be used
in your organization):

Camera records to drive C: and archives to drive C:
If the path containing the camera's database is on one of the drives you have selected for
dynamic archiving, XProtect Professional will always try to archive to that drive first. Archiving
will take place quickly, but may also fill up the drive with data fairly quickly.

Camera records to drive C: and archives to drive D:
Recordings and archives are on separate drives. Archiving takes place less quickly. XProtect
Professional will first temporarily store the archive in the local default archiving directory on C:,
www.milestonesys.com
145
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
then immediately move the archive to the archiving location on D:. Therefore, sufficient space
to accommodate the temporary archive is required on C:.

Camera 1 records to drive C: and archives to drive D: while Camera 2 records to drive
D: and archives to drive C:
Avoid this. One camera's archiving may take up space required for another camera's
recordings. In the above example, Camera 1's archiving to D: may result in no recording space
for camera 2 on D:. The rule is: "Do not cross recording and archiving drives."•
If you use several surveillance servers in a master/slave setup, each surveillance server must archive
to its own mapped location in order for archiving to work. If you attempt to archive to the same mapped
location for all the servers, archiving will fail.
If you use several surveillance servers in a master/slave setup, each surveillance server must archive
to its own mapped location in order for archiving to work. If you attempt to archive to the same mapped
location for all the servers, archiving will fail.
About archiving audio
If an audio source (for example, a microphone) is enabled on a hardware device, audio recordings are
archived together with video recordings from the camera attached to the hardware device. If the
hardware device is a video encoder with several channels, audio is archived with the camera on
channel 1.
When an audio source is enabled, audio is recorded to the associated camera’s database. This will
affect the database’s capacity for storing video. You may, therefore, want to use scheduled archiving
more frequently if recording audio and video than if only recording video.
Storage capacity required for archiving
The storage capacity required for archiving depends entirely on the amount of recordings you plan to
keep, and on how long you want to keep them (retention time). Some organizations want to keep
archived recordings from a large number of cameras for several months or years. Other organizations
may only want to archive recordings from one or two cameras, and they may want to keep their
archives for much shorter periods of time.
You should always first consider the storage capacity of the local drive containing the default archiving
directory to which archived recordings are always moved, even though they may immediately after be
moved to an archiving location on another drive. Basically, the capacity of the local drive should be at
least twice the size required for storing the databases of all cameras.
When you archive, XProtect Professional automatically checks that space required for the data to be
archived plus 1 GB of free disk space per camera is available at the archiving location. If not, the
archive location's oldest data from the camera in question will be deleted until there is sufficient free
space for the new data to be archived.
When you estimate storage capacity required for archiving, consider your organization's needs, then
plan for worst case rather than best case scenarios.
You cannot archive to external drives, only to local drives on the XProtect Professional server.
Tip: The Storage Calculator, found in the Support section of the Milestone website, can help you
determine the storage capacity required for your surveillance system.
www.milestonesys.com
146
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Automatic response if running out of disk space
If XProtect Professional runs of disk space while archiving, you can set up an automatic response.
Two scenarios can occur, depending on whether the camera database drive is different from, or
identical to, the archiving drive:
Different drives: Automatic archiving if database drive runs out of disk space
In case the XProtect Professional server is running out of disk space, and the archiving drive is
different from the camera database drive, and archiving has not taken place within the last hour,
archiving will automatically begin in an attempt to free up disk space. This will happen regardless of
any archiving schedules. The server is considered to be running out of disk space if:

there is less than 10% disk space left, and the available disk space goes below 30 GB plus 1.5
GB per camera

the available disk space goes below 150 MB plus 20 MB per camera (example: with ten
cameras, the server would be running out of disk space if the remaining available disk space
went below 350 MB (150 MB plus 20 MB for each of the ten cameras))
The difference ensures that very large disks will not necessarily be considered to be running out of
disk space just because they have less than 10% disk space left.
On the archiving drive, XProtect Professional automatically checks that the space required for data
from a camera to be archived plus 1 GB of free disk space per camera is available. If not, the archive
drive's oldest data from the camera in question will be deleted until there is sufficient free space for the
new data to be archived.
IMPORTANT: You will lose the archive data being deleted.
Same drive: Automatic moving or deletion of archives if drive runs out of disk space
If the XProtect Professional server is running out of disk space, and the archiving drive is identical to
the camera database drive, XProtect Professional will automatically do the following in an attempt to
free up disk space:
1. First, the program will attempt to move archives (moving archives is only possible if you use
dynamic archiving, with which you can archive to several different drives). This will happen if:
o
there is less than 15% disk space left, and the available disk space goes below 40 GB plus
2 GB per camera
- or -
o
the available disk space goes below 225 MB plus 30 MB per camera (example: with ten
cameras, the server would be running out of disk space if the remaining available disk
space went below 525 MB (225 MB plus 30 MB for each of the ten cameras))
The difference ensures that very large disks will not necessarily be considered to be running
out of disk space just because they have less than 15% disk space left.
2. If moving archives is not possible, XProtect Professional will attempt to delete the oldest
archives. This will happen if:
o
there is less than 10% disk space left, and the available disk space goes below 30 GB plus
1.5 GB per camera
www.milestonesys.com
147
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
- or o
the available disk space goes below 150 MB plus 20 MB per camera (example: with ten
cameras, the server would be running out of disk space if the remaining available disk
space went below 350 MB (150 MB plus 20 MB for each of the ten cameras))
The difference ensures that very large disks will not necessarily be considered to be running
out of disk space just because they have less than 10% disk space left.
IMPORTANT: You will lose data from the archives being deleted.
3. Ultimately, if there are no archives to delete, XProtect Professional will attempt to resize
camera databases by deleting their oldest recordings. This will happen if:
o
there is less than 5% disk space left, and the available disk space goes below 20 GB plus
1 GB per camera
- or o
the available disk space goes below 75 MB plus 10 MB per camera (example: with ten
cameras, the server would be running out of disk space if the remaining available disk
space went below 175 MB (75 MB plus 10 MB for each of the ten cameras))
The difference ensures that very large disks will not necessarily be considered to be running
out of disk space just because they have less than 5% disk space left.
IMPORTANT: You will lose the data deleted as part of the database resizing process.
When the recording server is restarted upon such database resizing, the original database
sizes will be used. You should therefore make sure the drive size problem is solved, or adjust
camera database sizes to reflect the altered drive size.
Tip: Should the database resizing procedure take place, you will be informed on-screen in the Smart
Client, in log files, and (if set up) through an e-mail and/or SMS notification.
1. First, XProtect Professional will attempt to delete archives. This will happen if:

there is less than per camera
- or -

the available disk space goes below 150 MB plus 20 MB per camera
The difference ensures that very large disks will not necessarily be considered to be running
out of disk space just because they have less than 10% disk space left.
IMPORTANT: You will lose data from the archives being deleted.
1. Ultimately, if there are no archives to delete, XProtect Professional will attempt to resize
camera databases. This will happen if:

there is less than 5% disk space left, and the available disk space goes below 20 GB plus 1
GB per camera
- or -

the available disk space goes below 75 MB plus 10 MB per camera (example: with ten
cameras, the server would be running out of disk space if the remaining available disk space
went below 175 MB (75 MB plus 10 MB for each of the ten cameras))
www.milestonesys.com
148
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
The difference ensures that very large disks will not necessarily be considered to be running out of
disk space just because they have less than 5% disk space left.
IMPORTANT: You will lose the data deleted as part of the database resizing process.
When the recording server is restarted upon such database resizing, the original database sizes will
be used. You should therefore make sure the drive size problem is solved, or adjust camera database
sizes to reflect the altered drive size.
Tip: Should the database resizing procedure take place, you will be informed on-screen in the Smart
Client, in log files, and (if set up) through an e-mail notification.
About archiving schedules
There are two ways in which to configure archiving schedules:

While you configure your cameras through the Configure Video and Recording wizard (see
"The Configure Video and Recording wizard" on page 56), in which case you configure your
archiving schedule on the wizard's Drive selection page.

As part of the general Scheduling and Archiving properties: In the Management Application's
navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, right-click Scheduling and Archiving,
select Properties, select Archiving in the dialog, and specify required properties.
View archived recordings
You can view archived recordings via the Smart Client. Use, for example, all of the Smart Client's
advanced features (video browsing, and export) for archived recordings.
Stored archives
For archived recordings stored on a local or network drive, you use the Smart Client playback features
to find and view the relevant recordings, just like you would with recordings stored in a camera's
regular database.
Exported archives
For exported archives, for example archives stored on a CD, you use the Smart Client. See the Smart
Client documentation for more information.
Configure general scheduling and archiving
Do the following:
1. In the Management Application navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, right-click
Scheduling and Archiving, and select Properties.
2. Specify properties as required for Scheduling all cameras (on page 152), Scheduling options
(on page 153), and Archiving.
3. XProtect Professional comes with two simple schedule profiles, Always on and Always off,
which cannot be edited or deleted. If these do not meet your needs, you can create any
number of customized schedule profiles for each camera. When you create a customized
schedule profile for one camera, you can reuse it with other cameras if required.
4. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
www.milestonesys.com
149
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
When archiving, disable any virus scanning (see "Virus scanning information" on page 24) of
camera databases and archiving locations.
Configure camera-specific schedules
If you base your schedule profile—or parts of it—on events within periods of time, remember to select
Start event and Stop event from the lists below the calendar section.
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you can quickly do it: Use the Configure events
list, located below the other fields.
The fact that a camera transfers video to XProtect Professional does not necessarily mean that video
from the camera is recorded. Recording is configured separately; see Configure video and recording
(see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77).
For each camera, you can create schedule profiles based on:
Online periods

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in pink:

Events within periods of time (example: from Event A occurs until Event B occurs Mondays
from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in yellow:
The two options can be combined
, but they cannot overlap in time.
Speedup

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in olive green:
E-mail notification

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in blue:
SMS notification

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in green:
PTZ patrolling

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in red:
www.milestonesys.com
150
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1

Administrator's Manual
If use of one patrolling profile is followed immediately by use of another, run your mouse
pointer over the red bar to see which patrolling profile applies when.
XProtect Professional comes with two simple schedule profiles, Always on and Always off, which
cannot be edited or deleted. If these do not meet your needs, you can create any number of
customized schedule profiles for each camera. When you create a customized schedule profile for one
camera, you can reuse it with other cameras if required.
1. In the Schedule Profiles list, select Add new....
2. In the Add Profile dialog, enter a name for the profile. Names must not contain any of these
special characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
3. In the top right corner of the dialog, select Set camera to start/stop on time (to base
subsequent settings on periods of time) or Set camera to start/stop on event (to base
subsequent settings on events within periods of time).
Tip: You can combine the two, so you may return to this step in order to toggle between the
two options.
4. In the calendar section, place your mouse pointer at a required start point, then hold down the
left mouse button, drag the mouse pointer and release at the required end point.
o
You specify each day separately.
o
You specify time in increments of five minutes. XProtect Professional helps you by
showing the time over which your mouse pointer is positioned.
If you base your schedule profile—or parts of it—on events within periods of time, remember to select
Start event and Stop event from the lists below the calendar section.
o
Tip: If you have not yet defined any suitable events, you can quickly do it: Use the
Configure events list, located below the other fields.
o
To delete an unwanted part of a schedule profile, right-click it and select Delete.
o
To quickly fill or clear an entire day, double-click the name of the day.
o
As an alternative to dragging inside the calendar section, use the Start time, End time
and Day fields, then the Change Period or Set Period button as required. When using the
Start time and End time fields, remember that time is specified in increments of five
minutes. You cannot specify a period shorter than five minutes, and you can only use
times like 12:00, 12.05, 12:10, 12:15, etc. If you specify a time outside of the five-minute
intervals, such as 12:13, you will get an error message.
www.milestonesys.com
151
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
General scheduling properties
Properties in this window:
Scheduling all cameras ......................................................................... 152
Scheduling options ................................................................................ 153
Archiving ................................................................................................ 154
Scheduling all cameras
When you configure general scheduling and archiving (see "Configure general scheduling and
archiving" on page 149), you can specify certain properties for many cameras in one go. Either in
order to speed up things, or because the properties in question are shared by all cameras rather than
being specific to individual cameras.
All properties on a white background are editable, properties on a light blue background cannot be
edited. Note that the properties Online Period, Speedup, E-mail Notification, SMS Notification, and
PTZ Patrolling can also be specified individually for each camera.
Name
Description
Template
The template can help you configure similar properties quickly. Say
you have 20 cameras and you want to change the recording path,
archiving path, and retention time for all of them. Instead of having
to enter the same three pieces of information 20 times, you can
simply enter them once in the template, and then apply the template
to the 20 cameras with only two clicks.
Apply Template
Select which cameras you want to apply the template for. You then
use one of the two Set buttons to actually apply the template.
Tip: To select all cameras in the list, click the Select All button.
Camera
The name as it appears in the Management Application as well as
in clients.
Select the required profile (for example Always on) for the online
schedule (see "Configure camera-specific schedules" on page 79)
for the camera(s) in question.
You specify a camera's online periods by creating schedule profiles
based on:

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45),
shown in pink:

Events within periods of time (example: from Event A occurs
until Event B occurs Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45),
shown in yellow:
Online
The two options can be combined
overlap in time.
www.milestonesys.com
152
, but they cannot
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
E-mail
Select the required profile for the e-mail notification schedule (see
"E-mail notification" on page 156) for the camera(s) in question.
You specify a camera's e-mail notification periods by creating
schedule profiles based on periods of time (example: Mondays from
08.30 until 17.45), shown in blue:
SMS
Select the required profile for the SMS notification schedule (see
"SMS notification" on page 156) for the camera(s) in question. You
specify a camera's SMS notification periods by creating schedule
profiles based on periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30
until 17.45), shown in green:
PTZ Patrolling
Only available for PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) cameras with patrolling, the
continuous movement of a PTZ camera between a number of
preset positions. Lets you select the required profile for the PTZ
patrolling schedule (see "PTZ patrolling" on page 156) for the
camera(s) in question.
You specify a camera's patrolling schedule based on patrolling
profiles within particular periods of time (example: Mondays from
08.30 until 17.45), shown in red:
Select All
Click button to select all cameras in the Apply Template column.
Clear All
Click button to clear all selections in the Apply Template column.
Set selected template value on Apply only a selected value from the template to selected cameras.
selected cameras
Tip: To select more than one value press CTRL while selecting.
New schedule profile
Create a new schedule profile of any type by clicking the Create...
button.
Scheduling options
When you configure general scheduling and archiving (see "Configure general scheduling and
archiving" on page 149), you can specify certain properties for many cameras in one go. In the case of
Scheduling Options, it is because the properties are shared by all cameras.
Name
Description
Start cameras on client
requests
Cameras may be offline, for example because they have reached
the end of an online recording schedule (see "Online period" on
page 155), in which case client users will not be able to view live
video from the cameras. However, if you select Start cameras on
client requests, client users will be able to view live video from the
camera outside online schedule—but without recording (technically:
force the camera to be online outside its online schedule).
You must select Enable recording when started on client
request (see the following), if you want recording to take place.
www.milestonesys.com
153
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Enable recording on the camera when Start cameras on client
requests (see the previous) is also selected.
Enable recording when
started on client request
If a user does not have access to manual recording (see "Camera
access" on page 181), selecting Enable recording when started
on client request, will not enable the user to do manual recording.
Schedule profile for new
cameras
Select which online schedule profile to use as default for cameras
you subsequently add to your XProtect Professional system. Note
that your selection only applies for the online schedule, not for any
other schedules. Default selection is Always on, meaning that new
cameras will always be online, that is transferring video to the
XProtect Professional server for live viewing and further processing.
Maximum delay between
reconnect attempts
Control the aggressiveness of reconnection attempts. If XProtect
Professional loses the connection to a camera, it will by default
attempt to re-establish the connection after ten seconds. In some
environments, for example if using vehicle-mounted cameras
through wireless connections, camera connections may frequently
be lost, and you may want to change the aggressiveness of such
reconnection attempts.
You can view live and even record video from a camera outside its online recording schedule. To do
this, you select the Start cameras on client requests and, if needed, the Enable recording when
started on client request options in the following when setting up your scheduling properties for the
camera in question.
Archiving
XProtect Professional automatically archives (see "About archiving" on page 143) recordings if a
camera's database becomes full (in earlier versions, this was an option configured individually for each
camera).
Name
Description
Archiving Times
Specify when you want XProtect Professional to automatically move
recordings to your archiving path(s). You can specify up to 24
archiving times per day, with minimum one hour between each one.
Select the hour, minute and second values and click the up and
down buttons to increase or decrease values, or simply overwrite
the selected value, and then click Add.
The more you expect to record, the more often you should archive.
Send e-mail on archiving
failure
If selected, XProtect Professional will automatically send an e-mail
to selected recipients if archiving fails. This requires that the e-mail
notification (on page 156) feature is enabled. Recipients are defined
as part of the e-mail notification properties.
If selected, XProtect Professional will automatically send an SMS
(mobile phone text message) to selected recipients if archiving fails.
Send SMS on archiving failure This requires that the SMS notification (on page 156) feature is
enabled. Recipients are defined as part of the SMS notification
properties (see "SMS properties" on page 168).
www.milestonesys.com
154
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Camera-specific scheduling properties
Properties in this window:
Online period ......................................................................................... 155
Speedup ................................................................................................ 156
E-mail notification .................................................................................. 156
SMS notification ..................................................................................... 156
PTZ patrolling ........................................................................................ 156
Online period
When you configure scheduling (see "Configure camera-specific schedules" on page 79) for specific
cameras, your Online Period settings are probably the most important, since they determine when
each camera should transfer video to XProtect Professional.
By default, cameras added to XProtect Professional will automatically be online, and you will only
need to modify the online period settings if you require cameras to be online only at specific times or
events. Note, however, that this default may be changed as part of the general scheduling options
(see "Scheduling options" on page 153), in which case subsequently added cameras will not
automatically be online.
The fact that a camera transfers video to XProtect Professional does not necessarily mean that video
from the camera is recorded. Recording is configured separately; see Configure video and recording
(see "About video and recording configuration" on page 77).
Name
Description
Select the required profile (for example Always on) for the online
schedule (see "Configure camera-specific schedules" on page 79)
for the camera(s) in question.
You specify a camera's online periods by creating schedule profiles
based on:

Periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45),
shown in pink:

Events within periods of time (example: from Event A occurs
until Event B occurs Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45),
shown in yellow:
Online
The two options can be combined
overlap in time.
, but they cannot
Is it possible to view live and even record video from a camera outside its online recording schedule?
Yes, you select the Start cameras on client requests (see "Scheduling options" on page 153) and, if
needed, the Enable recording when started on client request (see "Scheduling options" on page 153)
options when setting up your scheduling properties for the camera in question.
www.milestonesys.com
155
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Speedup
Speedup may also take place based on events, but that is configured elsewhere: See Frame rate MJPEG (General recording and storage properties) (see "Frame rate - MJPEG" on page 93) and
Video (Camera-specific properties) (see "Video" on page 101).
Name
Description
Speedup
For specific MJPEG cameras, specify speedup periods. Before you
can define this type of schedule, speedup must be enabled (see
"Frame rate - MJPEG" on page 93). You specify a camera's
speedup periods by creating schedule profiles based on periods of
time (example: Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45), shown in olive
green:
E-mail notification
When you configure scheduling (see "Configure camera-specific schedules" on page 79) for specific
cameras, you can specify e-mail notification (see "Configure e-mail notifications" on page 165)
periods. Before you can define this type of schedule, e-mail notification must be enabled (see "E-mail
properties" on page 166).
Name
Description
E-mail
Select the required profile for the e-mail notification schedule (see
"E-mail notification" on page 156) for the camera(s) in question.
You specify a camera's e-mail notification periods by creating
schedule profiles based on periods of time (example: Mondays from
08.30 until 17.45), shown in blue:
SMS notification
When you configure scheduling (see "Configure camera-specific schedules" on page 79) for specific
cameras, you can specify SMS notification (see "Configure SMS notifications" on page 168) periods.
Before you can define this type of schedule, SMS notification must be enabled (see "SMS properties"
on page 168).
Name
Description
SMS
Select the required profile for the SMS notification schedule (see
"SMS notification" on page 156) for the camera(s) in question. You
specify a camera's SMS notification periods by creating schedule
profiles based on periods of time (example: Mondays from 08.30
until 17.45), shown in green:
PTZ patrolling
When you configure scheduling (see "Configure camera-specific schedules" on page 79) for PTZ
(Pan/Tilt/Zoom) cameras capable of patrolling (see "PTZ patrolling" on page 117), you can specify
www.milestonesys.com
156
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
which patrolling profiles to use at specific times. Before you can define this type of schedule, patrolling
must be configured for the cameras in question.
Name
Description
PTZ Patrolling
Only available for PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) cameras with patrolling, the
continuous movement of a PTZ camera between a number of
preset positions. Lets you select the required profile for the PTZ
patrolling schedule (see "PTZ patrolling" on page 156) for the
camera(s) in question.
You specify a camera's patrolling schedule based on patrolling
profiles within particular periods of time (example: Mondays from
08.30 until 17.45), shown in red:
Use of one patrolling profile may be followed immediately by use of another (example: use the
Daytime patrolling profile Mondays from 08.30 until 17.45, then the Evening patrolling profile Mondays
from 17.45 until 23.00). Use of two patrolling profiles cannot overlap.
Unlike other types of scheduling, there are no ready-made Always on and Always off schedule
profiles for PTZ patrolling. You can create any number of customized schedule profiles for each
camera. When you create a customized schedule profile (see "Configure camera-specific schedules"
on page 79) for one camera, you can reuse it with other cameras if required.
Matrix
About Matrix video sharing
The Matrix feature allows distributed viewing of live video from any camera to any Matrix recipient on a
network operating with XProtect Professional. A computer on which Matrix-triggered video can be
viewed is known as a Matrix recipient. In order to become a Matrix recipient, the computer must have
the multi-purpose Smart Client installed.
For more information about Matrix recipients refer to the Smart Client User's Manual, available on the
XProtect Professional software DVD as well as from www.milestonesys.com. Also, once installed, the
Smart Client has its own built-in help system.
There are two ways in which Matrix-triggered video can appear on a Matrix recipient:

Manual triggering: Another user wants to share important video, and sends it from a Smart
Client—or from a custom-made web page—to the required Matrix recipient.

Automatic triggering: Video is sent to the required Matrix recipient automatically when a
predefined event occurs; for example when a door sensor detects that a door is opened, or
when the surveillance system detects motion in the video from a camera.
About Matrix recipients
A computer on which Matrix-triggered video can be viewed is known as a Matrix recipient. In order to
become a Matrix recipient, the computer must have the multi-purpose Smart Client installed.
For more information about Matrix recipients refer to the Smart Client User's Manual, available on the
XProtect Professional software DVD as well as from www.milestonesys.com. Also, once installed, the
Smart Client has its own built-in help system.
www.milestonesys.com
157
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
There are two ways in which Matrix-triggered video can appear on a Matrix recipient:

Manual triggering: Another user wants to share important video, and sends it from a Smart
Client—or from a custom-made web page—to the required Matrix recipient.

Automatic triggering: Video is sent to the required Matrix recipient automatically when a
predefined event occurs, for example when a door sensor detects that a door is opened, or
when the surveillance system detects motion in the video from a camera.
Configure Matrix
1. In the Management Application's Navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick Matrix and select Properties.
2. Enable the use of Matrix by selecting the Enable Matrix check box.
3. Specify required properties (see "Matrix recipients" on page 158), or, for automatically
triggered video sharing, select Matrix Event Control and configure Matrix Event Control
properties (see "Matrix event control" on page 160).When ready, click OK.
4. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Configure Matrix for video sharing
1. In the Management Application's Navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick Matrix and select Properties.
2. Enable the use of Matrix by selecting the Enable Matrix check box.
3. Specify required properties (see "Matrix recipients" on page 158), or, for automatically
triggered video sharing, select Matrix Event Control and configure Matrix Event Control
properties (see "Matrix event control" on page 160).When ready, click OK.
4. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Matrix properties
Properties in this window:
Matrix recipients .................................................................................... 158
Matrix event control ............................................................................... 160
Matrix recipients
The Matrix Recipients tab is used for enabling Matrix functionality and for defining on which
computers to display Matrix-triggered live video. A computer on which Matrix-triggered video can be
displayed is known as a Matrix recipient. Being able to view Matrix-triggered video requires that a
Smart Client is installed on the user's computer.
www.milestonesys.com
158
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Enable Matrix
Select check box to enable Matrix functionality.
Lists any already defined Matrix recipients, that is computers on
which Matrix-triggered video can be displayed.
[List of Defined Matrix
recipients]
To change the properties of an already defined Matrix recipient,
select the required Matrix recipient, make the changes in the fields
below the list, then click the Update button.
To remove a Matrix recipient from the list, select the unwanted
Matrix recipient, then click the Delete button.
Delete
Available only when you have selected a Matrix recipient in the list.
Clicking the Delete button will remove the selected Matrix recipient.
You will be prompted to confirm the removal.
Name for the Matrix recipient. Used when adding a new Matrix
recipient or editing the properties of an existing one. The name will
appear in various day-to-day usage situations; it is therefore a good
idea to use a descriptive and unambiguous name.
Name
Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Address
IP address of the Matrix recipient, used when adding a new Matrix
recipient or editing the properties of an existing one.
Port
Specify the port number to be used when sending commands to the
Matrix recipient. Used when adding a new Matrix recipient or editing
the properties of an existing one. The Matrix recipient will listen for
commands on this port. By default, port 12345 is used; you can of
course specify another port number.
Password
Specify the password to be used when communicating with the
Matrix recipient. Used when adding a new Matrix recipient or editing
the properties of an existing one
Matrix recipient is a Smart
Client
Select if the Matrix recipient in question is a Smart Client. Matrixtriggered live video may also be displayed in usersSmart Clients. If
a Smart Client is used, distribution of the Matrix -triggered live video
takes place slightly differently.
Clear
Removes any content in the Name, Address, and Password fields.
Update
Updates the properties of the selected Matrix recipient with the
changes made during editing. Available only if you have edited the
properties of an existing Matrix recipient.
Add
Adds the new Matrix recipient to the list. Available only if you have
added properties of a new Matrix recipient in the Name, Address,
Port, Password, and possibly Smart Client fields.
www.milestonesys.com
159
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Matrix event control
The Matrix Event Control tab is used for configuring the automatic sending of live video based on
predefined events. You can define exactly which events and cameras to use on a per- Matrix recipient
basis.
The Matrix Event Control tab displays the list of Matrix recipients defined on the Matrix Recipients
tab.
Right-clicking a Matrix recipient brings up a list of devices with belonging events. When you select an
event, it will initially be highlighted by a red exclamation mark, indicating that there is additional
configuration to be done. Right-clicking an event brings up a list of options for the selected event:
Name
Description
Delete [selected event]
Deletes selected event on selected device.
Connect
Connects to the camera (actual camera is specified after selecting
action to be taken).
Disconnect any existing connections, then connect again.
Disconnect, then connect
With this option the live video will appear in the Matrix recipient on a
first-in-first-out basis. Each time a new event occurs, video from the
latest event is displayed prominently in a specific position on the
Matrix recipient, while at the same time video from the older events
is shifted to less prominent positions and eventually ”pushed out” of
the Matrix recipient in order to make space for the latest event's
video.
With the Connect option, you may experience that if video triggered
by one event on a camera is already shown on the Matrix recipient,
videos triggered by another event on the same camera will not be
displayed prominently as coming from the latest event – simply
because the Matrix recipient is already showing video from the
camera in a less prominent position. By selecting Disconnect, then
connect you can avoid this issue, and ensure that video from the
latest event is always displayed prominently.
Disconnect
Disconnects any existing connection. Use if a particular event
should cause video to stop being displayed in the Matrix recipient,
even if they are not yet old enough to be “pushed out” of the Matrix
recipient.
If you selected Connect, another red exclamation mark will indicate that there is still some
configuration to be done. Right-clicking an action to select which camera to apply the action on.
In this example, we have specified that when motion is detected on Camera b, the selected Matrix
recipient should connect to Camera b:
www.milestonesys.com
160
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Logs
About logs
XProtect Professional can generate various logs.
Log types
Name
Description
Management Application log
files
Recording Server service log
files
Image Server service log files
These files log activity in the Management Application. A new log
file is created for each day the Management Application is used.
You cannot disable this type of logging. Management Application
log files are named according to the structure
AdminYYYYMMDD.log, for example Admin20091231.log.
These files log Recording Server service (see "About services" on
page 183) activity. A new log file is created for each day the service
is used.
You cannot disable this type of logging. Recording Server service
log files are named according to the structure
RecordingServerYYYYMMDD.log, for example
RecordingServer20091231.log.
These files log activity on the Image Server service (see "About
services" on page 183). A new log file is created for each day the
service is used.
You cannot disable this type of logging. Image Server service log
files are named according to the structure ISLog_YYYYMMDD.log,
for example ISLog_20091231.log.
These files log activity regarding the Image Import service, when
this service is used for fetching pre-alarm images, and storing the
fetched images in camera databases.
Image Import service log files
Pre-alarm images is a feature available for selected cameras only.
It enables sending of images from immediately before an event took
place from the camera to the surveillance system via e-mail. A new
log file is created for each day the service is used.
You cannot disable this type of logging. Image Import service log
files are named according to the structure
ImageImportLog_YYYMMDD.log, for example
ImageImportLog20091231.log.
www.milestonesys.com
161
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
These files log information about registered events. A new log file is
created for each day on which events occur.
Event log files
Audit log files
You cannot disable this type of logging. Event log files should be
viewed using the Smart Client (use the Playback tab's Alerts
section).
These files log Smart Client user activity provided audit logging is
enabled. A new log file is created for each day with audit logging
enabled and client user activity. Audit log files are named according
to the structure is_auditYYYMMDD.log, for example
is_audit20091231.log. The _is prefix is due to the fact that the audit
log files are generated by the Image Server service.
Log locations
All log files are by default placed in the appropriate All Users folder for the operating system you are
using. By default, they are stored there for seven days. Note, however, that log file locations as well as
the number of days to store the logs can be changed as part of the logging configuration.
Log structures
Most log files generated by XProtect Professional use a shared structure complying with the W3C
Extended Log File Format. Each log file consists of a header and a number of log lines:

The header outlines the information contained in the log lines.

The log lines consist of two main parts: the log information itself as well as an encrypted part.
The encrypted part makes it possible, through decryption and comparison, to assert that a log
file has not been tampered with.
Log integrity checks
All log files, except Management Application log files, are subjected to an integrity check once every
24 hours. The integrity check is performed by the XProtect Professional Log Check service.
The result of the integrity check is automatically written to a file named according to the structure
LogCheck_YYYYMMDD.log, for example LogCheck_20091231.log. Like the log files themselves, the
log check files are by default placed in the appropriate All Users folder for the operating system you
are using.
Any inconsistencies will be reported in the form of error messages written in the log check file.
Possible error messages (other, non-error, messages may also appear in the log check file):
Name
Description
Log integrity information was
not found. Log integrity can't
be guaranteed.
The log file could not be checked for integrity.
www.milestonesys.com
162
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Log information does not
match integrity information.
Log integrity can't be
guaranteed.
The log file exists, but does not contain the expected information.
Thus, log integrity cannot be guaranteed.
[Log file name] not found
The log file was not present.
[Log file name] is empty
The log file was present, but empty.
Last line changed/removed in
[log file name]
The last line of the log file did not match validation criteria.
Encrypted data missing in [log
The encrypted part of the log line in question was not present.
file name] near line [#]
Inconsistency found in [log
file name] near line [#]
The log line does not match the encrypted part.
Inconsistency found in [log
file name] at beginning of log
file
The log file header is not correct. This situation is most likely to
occur if a user has attempted to delete the beginning of a log file.
Configure system, event and audit logging
XProtect Professional can to generate various logs. To configure logging, do the following:
1. In the Management Application's Navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick Logs and select Properties.
2. Specify required properties (see "Log properties" on page 163) for:
o
General system logs ( Management Application log, Recording Server service log, Image
Server service log, Image Import service log)
o
The event log
o
The audit log
Note that only audit logging can be disabled/enabled by administrators; all other logs are
compulsory. XProtect Professional comes with two simple schedule profiles, Always on and
Always off, which cannot be edited or deleted. If these do not meet your needs, you can
create any number of customized schedule profiles for each camera. When you create a
customized schedule profile for one camera, you can reuse it with other cameras if required.
3. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Log properties
XProtect Professional can generate various types of logs. When you configure logs, you can define
the following:
www.milestonesys.com
163
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Logs (Management Application log, Recording Server service log, Image Server service log, and
Image Import service log)
Name
Description
These log files are by default placed in the appropriate All Users
folder for the operating system you are using.
Path
To specify another location for your log files, type the path to the
required folder in the Path field, or click the browse button next to
the field to browse to the required folder.
Days to log
A new log file is created each day the Management Application
and/or the services are used. A log file older than the number of
days specified in the field is automatically deleted. By default, the
log file will be stored for seven days. To specify another number of
days (max. 9999), simply overwrite the value in the field. The
current day's activity is always logged, even with a value of 0 in the
field. Therefore, if you specify 0, you will log current day's activity; if
you specify 1, you will keep one day plus the current day's activity,
and so on.
Event Log
Name
Description
These log files are by default placed in the appropriate All Users
folder for the operating system you are using.
Path
To specify another location for your log files, type the path to the
required folder in the Path field, or click the browse button next to
the field to browse to the required folder.
Days to log
A new log file is created for each day on which events occur. A log
file older than the number of days specified in the field is
automatically deleted. By default, the log file will be stored for seven
days. To specify another number of days (max. 9999), simply
overwrite the value in the field. The current day's activity is always
logged, even with a value of 0 in the field. Therefore, if you specify
0, you will log current day's activity; if you specify 1, you will keep
one day plus the current day's activity, and so on.
Audit Log
Name
Description
Enable audit logging
Audit logging is the only type of XProtect Professional logging which
is not compulsory. Select/clear the check box to enable/disable
audit logging.
These log files are by default placed in the appropriate All Users
folder for the operating system you are using.
Path
To specify another location for your log files, type the path to the
required folder in the Path field, or click the browse button next to
the field to browse to the required folder.
www.milestonesys.com
164
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Days to log
A new log file is created for each day with audit logging enabled
and client user activity. A log file older than the number of days
specified in the field is automatically deleted. By default, the log file
will be stored for seven days. To specify another number of days
(max. 9999), simply overwrite the value in the field. The current
day's activity is always logged (provided audit logging is enabled
and there is user activity). Therefore, if you specify 1, you will keep
one day plus the current day's activity. Note that if you specify 0
(zero), audit log files will be kept indefinitely (disk space permitting).
Minimum logging interval
Minimum number of seconds between logged events. Specifying a
high number of seconds between logged events may help reduce
the size of the audit log. Default is 60 seconds.
In sequence timespan
Number of seconds to pass for viewed images to be considered to
be within the same sequence. Specifying a high number of seconds
may help limit the number of viewed sequences logged, and thus
reduce the size of the audit log. Default is ten seconds.
E-mail
About e-mail
With e-mail notifications, you can instantly get notified when your surveillance system requires
attention. XProtect Professional can automatically send e-mail notifications to one or more recipients
when:

Motion (see "Motion detection & exclude regions" on page 110) is detected

Events occur. You can select individually for each event whether you want to receive an e-mail
notification or not.

Archiving (see "About archiving" on page 143) fails (if e-mail notification has been selected as
part of the archiving properties)
Configure e-mail notifications
Do the following:
1. In the Management Application's Navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick E-mail and select Properties.
2. Specify required properties (see "E-mail properties" on page 166), including the important
information about which SMTP mail server to use. XProtect Professional comes with two
simple schedule profiles, Always on and Always off, which cannot be edited or deleted. If
these do not meet your needs, you can create any number of customized schedule profiles for
www.milestonesys.com
165
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
each camera. When you create a customized schedule profile for one camera, you can reuse
it with other cameras if required.
Tip: You can test your e-mail notification configuration by clicking the Test button. This will
send a test e-mail to the specified recipients.
3. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
When you configure e-mail alerts, also consider the e-mail notification schedules (see "E-mail
notification" on page 156) configured for each camera.
E-mail properties
With e-mail notifications (see "Configure e-mail notifications" on page 165), you and your colleagues
can instantly get notified when your surveillance system requires attention.
Name
Description
Recipient(s)
Specify the e-mail addresses to which e-mail notifications should be
sent. If specifying more than one e-mail address, separate the email addresses with semicolons (example: [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]).
Test
Sends a test e-mail to the specified recipients. If Include Image is
selected, the test e-mail will have a still test JPEG image attached.
Subject text
Enter required subject text for e-mail notifications.
Message text
Enter required message text for e-mail notifications. Note that
camera information as well as date and time information is
automatically included in e-mail notifications.
Select check box to include still images in e-mail notifications.
When selected, a still JPEG image from the time the triggering
event occurred will be attached to each e-mail notification.
Include Image
Example of e-mail including a still image
www.milestonesys.com
166
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
If selected, e-mail notifications will not be sent if XProtect
Professional loses contact with a camera. Otherwise, automatic eDo not send e-mail on camera mail notifications will be sent in such cases, regardless of any
failures
scheduled e-mail notification periods (see "E-mail notification" on
page 156).
Time between motion- and
database-related e-mails per
camera
Minimum time (in minutes) to pass between the sending of each email notification per camera. This interval only applies for e-mail
notification generated by detected motion or database-related
events; e-mail notification generated by other types of events will
still be sent out whenever the events occur. Examples: If specifying
5, a minimum of five minutes will pass between the sending of each
motion- or database-related e-mail notification per camera, even if
motion or database events are detected in between. If specifying 0,
e-mail notifications will be sent each time motion or database
events are detected, potentially resulting in a very large number of
e-mail notifications being sent. If using the value 0, you should
therefore consider cameras' motion detection (see "Motion
detection & exclude regions" on page 110) sensitivity settings.
Sender e-mail address
Enter the e-mail address you wish to appear as the sender of the email notification.
Outgoing mail (SMTP) server
name
Type the name of the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server
which will be used for sending the e-mail notifications. Compared
with other mail transfer methods, SMTP has the advantage that you
will avoid automatically triggered warnings from your e-mail client.
Such warnings may otherwise inform you that your e-mail client is
trying to automatically send e-mail messages on your behalf.
TLS (Transport Layer Security) and it s predecessor SSL (Secure
Socket Layer) is not supported; if the sender belongs on a server
that requires TLS or SSL, e-mail notifications will not work properly.
Also, you may be required to disable any e-mail scanners that could
prevent the application sending the e-mail notifications.
Server requires login
Select check box if a user name and password is required to use
the SMTP server.
User name
Only required when Server requires login is selected. Specify the
user name required for using the SMTP server.
Password
Only required when Server requires login is selected. Specify the
password required for using the SMTP server.
www.milestonesys.com
167
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
SMS
About SMS
With SMS notifications, you can instantly get notified on your mobile device when your surveillance
system requires attention. XProtect Professional can automatically send SMS notifications when:

Motion (see "Motion detection & exclude regions" on page 110) is detected

Events occur. You can select individually for each event whether you want to receive an SMS
notification or not.

Archiving (see "About archiving" on page 143) fails (if an SMS notification has been selected
as part of the archiving properties)
Use of the SMS notification feature requires that an external Siemens TC-35 GSM modem has been
attached to a serial port (a.k.a. COM port) on the XProtect Professional server. Siemens TC-35 is a
dual-band EGSM900/GSM1800 modem. Verify that the modem is compatible with mobile phone
networks where you are going to use it with XProtect Professional.
Configure SMS notifications
To configure SMS notifications, do the following:
1. In the Management Application's Navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick SMS and select Properties.
2. Enable the use of SMS by selecting the Enable SMS check box.
3. Specify required properties (see "SMS properties" on page 168).
Tip: You can test your SMS notification configuration by clicking the Test button; this will send
a test SMS to the specified recipient. Note that you must stop the Recording Server service
(see "Start and stop services" on page 184) while you perform the test (remember to start the
service again afterwards).
4. XProtect Professional comes with two simple schedule profiles, Always on and Always off,
which cannot be edited or deleted. If these do not meet your needs, you can create any
number of customized schedule profiles for each camera. When you create a customized
schedule profile for one camera, you can reuse it with other cameras if required.
5. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
When you configure SMS alerts, also consider the SMS notification schedules (see "SMS notification"
on page 156) configured for each camera.
SMS properties
With SMS notifications (see "Configure SMS notifications" on page 168), you can instantly get notified
when your surveillance system requires attention.
www.milestonesys.com
168
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Enable SMS
Enables the use of SMS notifications, allowing you to specify further
properties.
GSM modem connected to
Select port connecting the XProtect Professional server to the GSM
modem.
SIM card PIN code
Specify PIN code for the SIM card inserted in the GSM modem.
SIM card PUK code
Specify PUK code (that is unlocking code) for the SIM card inserted
in the GSM modem.
SMS central phone number
Specify the number of the SMS central to which the GSM modem
should connect in order to send SMS notifications.
Recipient phone number
Specify the number of the mobile telephone to which SMS alerts
should be sent. It is only possible to send SMS notifications to a
single telephone number.
Message
Specify required message text for the SMS notification. Message
text must be no longer that 160 characters, and must only contain
the following characters: a-z, A-Z, 0-9 as well as commas (,) and full
stops (.). Note that camera information as well as date and time
information is automatically included in SMS notifications.
Tip: While you write, the counter below the Message field indicates
how many characters you have left to use.
Time between motion- and
database-related SMSs per
camera
Minimum time (in minutes) to pass between the sending of each
SMS notification per camera. This interval only applies for SMS
notification generated by detected motion or database-related
events; SMS notification generated by other types of events will still
be sent out whenever the events occur. Examples: If specifying 5, a
minimum of five minutes will pass between the sending of each
motion- or database-related SMS notification per camera, even if
motion or database events are detected in between. If specifying 0,
SMS notifications will be sent each time motion or database events
are detected, potentially resulting in a very large number of SMS
notifications being sent. If using the value 0, you should therefore
consider cameras' motion detection (see "Motion detection &
exclude regions" on page 110) sensitivity settings.
Test
Lets you test your SMS notification configuration by sending a test
SMS to the specified recipient. Note that you must stop the
Recording Server service (see "Start and stop services" on page
184) while you perform the test (remember to start the service again
afterwards).
Do not send SMS on camera
failures
If selected, SMS notifications will not be sent if XProtect
Professional loses contact with a camera. Otherwise, automatic
SMS notifications will be sent in such cases, regardless of any
scheduled SMS notification periods (see "SMS notification" on page
156).
www.milestonesys.com
169
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Central
About XProtect Central
The XProtect Central Settings lets you specify the login settings required for an XProtect Central
server to access the surveillance system in order to retrieve status information and alarms. If you are a
user of the Milestone Integration Platform, this is also the dialog that lets you specify the login settings
for the Milestone Integration Platform to access the surveillance system.
Enable XProtect Central
1. In the Management Application's Navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick Central and then select Properties.
2. Enable the use of Central connections by selecting the Enable MilestoneXProtect Central
check box.
3. Specify required properties (see "Central properties" on page 170).
4. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Central properties
Name
Description
Enable Milestone XProtect
Central connections
Enables the use of Central connections, allowing you to specify
further properties.
Login Name
Type the name used for the connection between the XProtect
Professional and XProtect Central servers or the Milestone
Integration Platform. The name must match the name specified on
the XProtect Central server or in the Milestone Integration Platform.
Password
Type the password used for the connection between XProtect
Professional and XProtect Central servers or the Milestone
Integration Platform. The password must match the password
specified on the XProtect Central server or in the Milestone
Integration Platform.
Port
Type the port number to which the XProtect Central server or the
Milestone Integration Platform should connect when accessing the
XProtect Professional server. The port number must match the port
number specified on the XProtect Central server or in the Milestone
Integration Platform. Default port is 1237.
www.milestonesys.com
170
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Server access
About server access
You can configure clients' access to the XProtect Professional server in two ways:

Wizard-driven: Guided configuration which lets you specify how clients access the server and
which users can use clients. See Configure User Access wizard (on page 68).
When you use the wizard, all users that you add have access to all cameras, including new
cameras added at a later stage. If this is not acceptable, specify access settings, users and
user rights separately; see the following.

Through advanced configuration: In previous versions of XProtect Professional, this was
known as Image Server administration, since technically it is the Image Server service (see
"About services" on page 183) which handles clients' access to the surveillance system.
About registered services
Registered services displays the services installed to and running on your XProtect Professional
system. It displays the following information about the individual services:
Name
Description
Enabled
Indicates if the relevant service is enabled
Name
The name of the service
Description
A description of the service
Addresses
The inside and outside addresses used by the service
You can change the inside and outside addresses for a service. To do this, you click the Edit button
and then enter the relevant inside and/or outside addresses. Note that not all services can be edited.
You can delete a service registration from the system by clicking the Delete button. You are prompted
for confirmation before the service is deleted.
Configure server access
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick Server Access and select Properties.
2. Specify required properties for Server Access (on page 172), Local IP Ranges (on page 173),
and Language Support & XML Encoding (see "Language support and XML encoding" on page
173). XProtect Professional comes with two simple schedule profiles, Always on and Always
off, which cannot be edited or deleted. If these do not meet your needs, you can create any
number of customized schedule profiles for each camera. When you create a customized
schedule profile for one camera, you can reuse it with other cameras if required.
3. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
www.milestonesys.com
171
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
When you use this option, you configure client users separately from clients' access. See Add
individual users (see "Add basic users" on page 177), Add user groups (on page 178), and Configure
user and group rights (on page 179).
Server access properties
Properties in this window:
Server access ........................................................................................ 172
Local IP ranges ...................................................................................... 173
Language support and XML encoding .................................................. 173
Server access
When you configure server access (on page 171) (that is clients' access to the XProtect Professional
server), specify the following:
Name
Description
Server name
Name of the XProtect Professional server as it will appear in clients.
Client users with rights to configure their clients will see the name of
the server when they create views in their clients.
Local port
Port number to use for communication between clients and the
surveillance server. The default port number is 80; you can change
the port number if port 80 is used for other purposes in your
organization.
Enable internet access
Select the check box if the server should be accessible from the
internet through a router or firewall. If you select this option, also
specify the public (“outside”) IP address and port number in the
following fields. When using public access, the router or firewall
used must be configured so requests sent to the public IP address
and port are forwarded to the local (“inside”) IP address and port of
the XProtect Professional server.
Internet address
Lets you specify a public IP address or hostname for use when the
XProtect Professional server should be available from the internet.
Internet port
Specify a port number for use when the XProtect Professional
should be available from the Internet. The default port number is 80.
You can change the port number if needed.
www.milestonesys.com
172
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
You can limit the number of clients allowed to connect at the same
time. Depending on your XProtect Professional configuration and
the performance of the hardware and network used, limiting the
number of simultaneously connected clients may help reduce
server load. If more than the allowed number of simultaneously
connected clients attempt to log in, only the allowed number of
clients will be allowed access. Any clients in excess of the allowed
number will receive an error message when attempting to log in.
Max. number of clients
By default, a maximum of ten simultaneously connected clients are
allowed. To specify a different maximum number, simply overwrite
the value.
Tip: To allow an unlimited number of simultaneously connected
access clients, type 0 (zero) in the Max. number of clients field.
A four-minute session timeout period applies for client sessions on
XProtect Professional. In many cases, client users may not notice
this at all. However, the session timeout period will be very evident
if you set the Max. number of clients value to 1. When that is the
case, and the single allowed client user logs out, four minutes must
pass before it will be possible to log in again.
Local IP ranges
You can specify IP address ranges which XProtect Professional should recognize as coming from a
local network. This can be relevant if different subnets are used across you local network.
1. Click the Add button.
2. In the Start Address column, specify the first IP address in the required range.
3. In the End Address column, specify the last IP address in the required range.
Tip: If required, an IP address range may include only one IP address (example:
192.168.10.1-192.168.10.1).
4. Repeat if other local IP address ranges are required.
Language support and XML encoding
You can select the language/character set that should be used by the XProtect Professional server
and clients.
www.milestonesys.com
173
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Select required language/character set.
Example: If the surveillance server runs a Japanese version of
Character encoding/Language Windows, select Japanese. Provided access clients also use a
Japanese version of Windows, this will ensure that the correct
language and character encoding is used in clients' communication
with the server.
Master/Slave
About master and slave
You can create a master/slave setup of XProtect Professional servers. A master/slave setup will allow
remote users to transparently connect to more than one server at the same time. When remote users
connect to the master server, they will instantly get access to the slave servers as well.
Configure master and slave servers
Configuring a master/slave setup
In the Management Application 's Navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, right-click
Master/Slave and select Properties.
1. Select the Enable as master server check box.
2. Click Add to add a slave server.
3. Specify slave server properties. When ready, click OK.
4. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Adding a slave server
To add a slave server, expand Advanced Configuration in the Management Application , right-click
Master/Slave and select Add New Slave Server, then specify slave server properties. Slave servers
can also be added from the Master/Slave Properties window by clicking Add.
Tip: Instead of specifying a host name when adding a slave server, you may specify the IP address of
the slave server. Simply type the IP address in the Address field when adding the slave server.
Remember that if on a local network, the local IP address of the slave server must be used.
Before you start using your master/slave setup, remember to verify that:

Required users have be defined on the master server as well as on each of the slave servers.
www.milestonesys.com
174
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1

Administrator's Manual
Public Access (see "Configure server access" on page 171) has been enabled on all involved
servers, and ports mapped accordingly in the routers or firewalls used, if the slave servers are
to be accessed from the internet.
When using a master/slave setup, remote users and their rights must be defined in the Management
Application 's Users section on the master server as well as on each of the slave servers. Only
cameras to which a remote user has been given access will be visible to the user, regardless of
whether the cameras are connected to the master server or to one of the slave servers. If they are to
be accessed from the internet, Public Access must be enabled on all involved servers, and ports
must be mapped accordingly in the routers and/or firewalls used.
Frequently asked questions about using master/slave
How many master servers can I use in a master/slave setup? An unlimited number of servers per
SLC (Software License Code, specified during installation (see "Install your surveillance server
software" on page 26)) can be designated as master servers. If required—for example if your
organization is very large and spread over many geographical locations, or in case your organization
wants to create a redundancy solution—this allows you to use several master servers in a
master/slave setup.
How many slave servers can I use in a master/slave setup? Up to four servers can be defined as
slave servers under a designated master server using the same Software License Code.
How do I switch around which server is master and which server is slave? If you want a slave
server to become a master server, simply clear Enable as master server on the original master
server and click OK. In the Management Application's navigation pane right-click the slave server
which you want to become master server, and select Properties. Then select Enable as master
server. Next click Add to add slave servers to the new master server.
How do I ensure that I am actually connected to my slaves? You can verify the connection to your
slaves by clicking Update Status and let the system report the number of connected slaves back to
you.
Event Server installation in a master/slave setup
If you are planning to run a master/slave setup, it is important that you run Typical installation on the
master server and Custom installation, where you deselect installing the Event Server service, on the
slave server(s). This is because there can only be one event server service in a master/slave setup. If
more than one Event Server service is installed, the master server will have problems accessing
cameras on slave servers.
However, if you have an Event Server installed on the master server and no Event Server installed on
slave servers, you can create alarms that are triggered when events occur on the slave.
If you cannot see an event from the slave server when you are creating an alarm and entering the
source in the Management Application, this could be because you need to be a user on the slave
server with administrator access before you can see the events on the slave server.
A locally defined Windows user created on the Windows server will not be recognized on the slave
server, and an event from the slave server will not be available for creating alarms. If you are a domain
user, you be added to both the master server and the slave server with administrator access. This will
allow you to see the events on the slave server and create alarms.
If you are set up as a basic user on both the master server and slave server, with administrator rights
on both, you will be able to see events on the slave server and create alarms when you log in to the
master server with this user ID.
www.milestonesys.com
175
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
By default, the Management Application will not prompt you for a login, but will log you in with the
Windows user ID with which you have logged in to Windows. If you want to log in to the Management
Application as a basic user, you must therefore do the following: Start the Management Application
and go to File > Logout. This will open a login dialog where you can use your basic user ID to log in.
Master/slave properties
If you have several XProtect Professional servers, you can create a master/slave setup. A
master/slave setup will allow users to connect—in a transparent way—to more than one server
simultaneously. When users connect to the master server, they will instantly get access to the slave
servers as well.
Master server properties
Name
Description
Enable as master server
Select to enable as master server.
Timeout
Set timeout of slave update. See Update Status on Slaves in the
following.
Add
Lets you add slave servers. Select Master Server in the list and
click the Add button.
Slave server properties
Name
Description
Address
IP address of the slave server.
Port
Port number of the slave server.
Delete
Remove a slave server from the list of slave servers. Select the
slave server in the list and click the Delete button.
When selecting Master Server, the Delete button is disabled and the Add button is enabled—
provided that Enable as master server is selected—allowing you to add slave servers to the master
server but preventing you from deleting the master server.
Update status on slaves
In the Master Settings Summary and Slave Settings Summary table area, it is possible to
verify/update added slaves by clicking Update Status. A status dialog will run and subsequently
inform you of the status of your slave server(s).
Users
About users
The term users primarily refers to users who connect to the surveillance system through their clients.
You can configure such users in two ways:
www.milestonesys.com
176
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual

As basic users, authenticated by a user name/password combination.

As Windows users, authenticated based on their Windows login
You can add both types of users through the Configure User Access wizard (on page 68) or
individually (see Add basic users (on page 177) and Add Windows users (on page 177)).
By grouping users, you can specify rights (see "Configure user and group rights" on page 179) for all
users within a group in one go. If you have many users performing similar tasks, this can save you
significant amounts of work. User groups are logical groups created and used for practical purposes in
the Management Application only. They are not in any way connected with user groups from central
directory services. If you want to use groups, make sure you add groups (see "Add user groups" on
page 178) before you add users: You cannot add existing users to groups.
Finally, the Administrators group is also listed under Users. This is a default Windows user group for
administration purpose which automatically has access to the Management Application.
Add basic users
When you add a basic user, you create a dedicated surveillance system user account with basic user
name and password authentication for the individual user. Note that if you add a user as a Windows
user, this will provide better security.
If you want to include users in groups, make sure you add required groups (see "Add user groups" on
page 178) before you add users: You cannot add existing users to groups.
You can add basic users in two ways: One is through the Configure User Access wizard (on page 68),
the other is described here:
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick Users, and select Add New Basic User.
2. Specify a user name. Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special
characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Then specify a password, and repeat it to be sure you have specified it correctly.
3. Click OK.
4. Specify General Access (on page 180) and Camera Access (on page 181) properties. These
properties will determine the rights of the user.
5. Click OK.
6. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Add Windows users
When you add Windows users, you import users defined locally on the server and authenticate them
based on their Windows login. This generally provides better security than the basic user concept, and
is the recommended method.
If you want to include users in groups, make sure you add required groups (see "Add user groups" on
page 178) before you add users: You cannot add existing users to groups.
www.milestonesys.com
177
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
You can add Windows users in two ways: One is through the Configure User Access wizard (on page
68), the other is described here:
The users you want to add must have been defined as local PC users on the server. Simple file
sharing must be disabled on the server. To disable simple file sharing, right-click Windows' Start
button and select Explore. In the window that opens, select the Tools menu, then select Folder
Options..., then the View tab. Scroll to the bottom of the tab's Advanced Settings list, and make sure
that the Use simple files sharing check box is cleared. When ready, click OK and close the window.
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick Users, and select Add New Windows User. This will open the Select Users or Groups
dialog.
Note that you can only make selections from the local computer, even if you click the
Locations... button.
2. In the Enter the object names to select box, type the required user name(s), then use the
Check Names feature to verify it. If you type several user names, separate each name with a
semicolon. Example: Brian; Hannah; Karen; Wayne.
3. When done, click OK:
4. Specify General Access (on page 180) and Camera Access (on page 181) properties. These
properties will determine the rights of the user.
5. Click OK.
6. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Users who have been added from a local database logging in with a client should not specify any
server name, PC name, or IP address as part of the user name. Example of a correctly specified user
name: USER001. Example of an incorrectly specified user name: PC001/USER001. The user should
of course still specify a password and any required server information.
Add user groups
User groups are logical groups created and used for practical purposes in the Management
Application only. They are not in any way connected with user groups from central directory services
such as, for example, Active Directory®.
By grouping users, you can specify rights (see "Configure user and group rights" on page 179) for all
users within a group in one go. If you have many users performing similar tasks, this can save you
significant amounts of work.
Make sure you add groups before you add users: You cannot add existing users to groups.
www.milestonesys.com
178
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, rightclick Users, and select Add New User Group.
2. Specify a name. Names must be unique, and must not contain any of these special characters:
<> & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
3. Click OK.
4. Specify General access (on page 180) and Camera access (on page 181) properties. These
properties will determine the rights of the group's future members.
5. Click OK.
6. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
7. Now you can add users to the group: In the navigation pane, right-click the group you just
created, and Add basic users (on page 177) or Add Windows users (on page 177) as
required.
Configure user and group rights
User/group rights are configured during the process of adding users/groups, see Add basic Users (on
page 177), Add Windows users (on page 177) and Add user groups (on page 178). Note that you can
also add basic and Windows users through the Configure User Access wizard (on page 68). However,
when using the wizard all users you add will have access all to cameras, including any new cameras
added at a later stage.
If you at a later stage want to edit the rights of a user or group:
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, expand
Users, right-click the required user or group, and select Properties.
2. Edit General Access (on page 180) and Camera Access (on page 181) properties. These
properties will determine the rights of the user/group.
3. Click OK.
4. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
User properties
Properties in this window:
User information .................................................................................... 180
Group information .................................................................................. 180
General access ...................................................................................... 180
Camera access ...................................................................................... 181
Alarm Access (Properties) ..................................................................... 182
www.milestonesys.com
179
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
User information
Name
Description
User name
Only editable if the selected user is of the type basic user. Edit the
user name. Names must be unique, and must not contain any of
these special characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
Password
Only editable if the selected user is of the type basic user. Edit the
password. Remember to repeat the password to be sure you have
specified it correctly.
User type
Non-editable field, displaying whether the selected user is of the
type basic user or Windows user group.
Group information
Name
Description
Group name
Edit the group name. Names must be unique, and must not contain
any of these special characters: < > & ' " \ / : * ? | [ ]
General access
When you add or edit basic users (see "Add basic users" on page 177), Windows users (see "Add
Windows users" on page 177) or groups (see "Add user groups" on page 178), specify general access
settings:
Name
Description
Live
Ability to access the Live tab in the Smart Client.
Playback
Ability to access the Playback tab in the Smart Client.
Ability to access setup mode in the Smart Client.
Tip: By clearing the Live, Playback and Setup check boxes you
can effectively disable the user's/group's ability to use the Smart
Client. You can use this as a temporary alternative to deleting the
user/group, for example while a user is on vacation.
Setup
Edit shared views
www.milestonesys.com
Ability to create and edit views in shared groups in the Smart Client.
Views placed in shared groups can be accessed by every user. If a
user/group does not have this right, shared groups will be
protected, indicated by a padlock icon in the Smart Client.
180
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Edit private views
Ability to create and edit views in private groups in the Smart Client.
Views placed in private groups can only be accessed by the user
who created them. If a user/group does not have this right, private
groups will be protected, indicated by a padlock icon in the Smart
Client. Denying users the right to create their own views may make
sense in some cases; for example in order to limit bandwidth use.
For more information about shared and private views, see the
separate Smart Client documentation.
Administrator Access
Ability to access and work with the Management Application.
Selected and non-editable for Administrators. Cleared and
selectable for all other users.
Camera access
When you add or edit basic users (see "Add basic users" on page 177), Windows users (see "Add
Windows users" on page 177) or groups (see "Add user groups" on page 178), you can specify
camera access settings.
In the list of cameras, select the camera(s) you want to work with. Note the last item in the list, Rights
for new cameras when added to the system, with which you can allow the user/group access to any
future cameras.
Tip: If the same features should be accessible for several cameras, you can select multiple cameras
by pressing SHIFT or CTRL on your keyboard while selecting.
For the selected camera(s), in the Access check box, specify if the user/group should have access to
live viewing and playback at all. If so, specify if they should have access to both live viewing and
playback and—if this is the case—which sub-features should be available when working with the
selected camera(s).
The sub-features are listed in two columns in the lower part of the window: the left column lists
features related to live viewing, the right column lists features related to playback.
The Camera access settings check boxes work like a hierarchy of rights. If the Access check box is
cleared, everything else is cleared and disabled. If the Access check box is selected, but, for
example, the Live check box is cleared, everything under the Live check box is cleared and disabled.
Depending on the selected column, the following default features for live or playback from the selected
camera(s) will give you the ability to:
Live
Features
Use navigation features for PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) cameras.
PTZ
A user/group will only be able to use this right if the user has access
to one or more PTZ cameras.
PTZ preset positions
www.milestonesys.com
Use navigation features for moving a PTZ camera to particular
preset positions. A user/group will only be able to use this right if
having access to one or more PTZ cameras with defined preset
positions.
181
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Live
Features
Output
Activate output (lights, sirens, door openers, etc.) related to the
selected camera(s).
Events
Use manually triggered events related to the selected camera(s).
This feature is available in the XProtect Smart Client only.
Incoming audio
Listen to incoming audio from microphones related to the selected
camera(s). This feature is available in the Smart Client only.
Outgoing audio
Talk to audiences through speakers related to the selected
camera(s). This feature is available in the XProtect Smart Client
only.
Manual recording
Manually start recording for a fixed time (defined (see "Manual
recording" on page 92) by the surveillance system administrator).
Playback
Features
AVI/JPEG export
Export evidence as movie clips in AVI format and as still images in
JPEG format.
Database export
Export evidence in database format. This feature is available in the
Smart Client only.
Sequences
Use the Sequences feature when playing back video from the
selected camera.
Smart search
Use the smart search feature, with which users can search for
motion in one or more selected areas of images from the selected
camera. This feature is available in XProtect Smart Client only.
Recorded audio
Listen to recorded audio from microphones related to the selected
camera(s).
You cannot select a feature, if the selected camera does not support the relevant feature. For
example, PTZ-related rights are only available if the relevant camera is a PTZ camera. Some features
depend on the user’s/group’s General Access (on page 180) properties.
Square-filled check boxes can appear in the lower part of the window if you have selected several
cameras and a feature applies for some but not all of the cameras. Example: For camera A, you have
selected that use of the Events is allowed, for camera B, you have not allowed this. If you select both
camera A and camera B in the list, the Events check box in the lower part of the window will be
square-filled. Another example: Camera C is a PTZ camera for which you have allowed the PTZ
preset positions feature whereas camera D is not a PTZ camera. If you select both camera C and
camera D in the list, the PTZ preset positions check box will be square-filled.
Alarm Access (Properties)
When you add or edit basic users (see "Add basic users" on page 177), Windows users (see "Add
Windows users" on page 177) or groups (see "Add user groups" on page 178), specify their Smart
Client alarm access rights:
www.milestonesys.com
182
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Allows users of the Smart Client to:
View

View alarms

Print alarms reports.

Services
About services
The following services are all automatically installed on the XProtect Professional server if you run a
Typical installation. By default, services run transparently in the background on the XProtect
Professional server. If you need to, you can start and stop services separately from the Management
Application, see Start and stop services (on page 184).
Service
Description
Milestone Recording Server
service
A vital part of the surveillance system. Video streams are only
transferred to XProtect Professional while the Recording Server
service is running.
Provides access to the surveillance system for users logging in with
a Smart Client.
Milestone Image Server
service
Note: If the Image Server service is configured in Windows Services
to log in with another account than the Local System account, for
example as a domain user, Smart Clients on other computers than
the surveillance server itself will not be able to log in to the server
using the server's host name. Instead, those users must enter the
server's IP address.
Milestone Image Import
service
Used for fetching pre- and post-alarm images, and storing the
fetched images in camera databases. Pre- and post-alarm images
is a feature available for selected cameras only; it enables sending
of images from immediately before and after an event took place
from the camera to the surveillance system via e-mail. Pre- and
post-alarm images should not be confused with the XProtect
Professional pre- and post-recording feature (see "Recording" on
page 105).
Milestone Log Check service
Performs integrity checks on XProtect Professional log files. For
more information, see Overview of Logs.
Milestone Event Server
service
Manages all alarms and map-related communication. It stores
events, image files and map configurations, and makes status
information about the surveillance system available.
www.milestonesys.com
183
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Service
Description
Milestone Mobile service
Manages the communication between the Recording Server and
mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets) and between the
Recording Server and web browsers.
If you run a Custom installation, you can choose not to install the Mobile server and/or the Event
Server. If you do so, the Mobile service and/or the Event Server service will not be seen in your
Services overview.
Start and stop services
On an XProtect Professional server, several services (see "About services" on page 183) by default
run in the background. If you need to, you can start and stop each service separately:
1. In the Management Application's Navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration and
select Services. This will display the status of each service.
2. You can now stop each service by clicking the Stop button. When a service is stopped, the
button changes to Start, allowing you to start the service again when required.
Tip: Occasionally, you may want to stop a service and start it again immediately after. The
Restart button allows you to do just that with a single click.
Servers
Mobile Server
About Mobile server
A Mobile server handles log-ins when a user wants to log into his/her XProtect video management
setup via the XProtect Mobile client (see "About XProtect Mobile client" on page 16) from a mobile
device or from XProtect Web Client (see "About XProtect Web Client" on page 17).
Upon correct login, the Mobile server distributes video streams from relevant recording servers to
XProtect Mobile client. This offers an extremely secure setup, where recording servers are never
connected to the Internet. When a Mobile server receives video streams from recording servers, it also
handles the complex conversion of codecs and formats allowing streaming of video on the mobile
device.
Important: Before you begin the installation of the Mobile server, make sure you are logged in with an
account that has administrator rights. Installation will not be successful if you use a standard user
account.
About Video push
Video push is feature in your Mobile client that allows you to use your mobile device's camera, for
example, to collect evidence when you investigate an alarm or event. You do this by sending a video
stream from your mobile device to your XProtect video management system. In the Mobile server
settings, you can set up how many users should be able to use the Video push feature in the video
management system.
www.milestonesys.com
184
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
About saving configuration changes in XProtect Enterprise 8.0 and
streamlined XProtect software versions
The following applies to XProtect Enterprise 8.0, XProtect Professional 8.0, XProtect Express 1.0,
XProtect Essential 2.0 and XProtect Go 2.0 software versions only.
If you are logged into the XProtect Mobile client and are watching one or more cameras views while at
the same time changing configuration in the Management Application, the live video from the camera
may freeze in the XProtect Mobile client if you click Save Configuration and Restart Surveillance
Services in the Management Application.
To avoid this scenario, you must restart the Milestone XProtect Mobile service manually. See the
Windows Help for information about how to do this. If you are using newer versions of XProtect, the
Milestone XProtect Mobile service is restarted with the other services and no user action is required.
Add/edit a Mobile server
1. Do one of the following:
o
To add a new server, right-click Mobile Servers. From the menu that appears, select
Create New.
o
To edit a Mobile server, select the wanted server.
2. Fill in/edit the needed properties.
3. In the lower right corner, click Apply.
4. In the top toolbar, click File > Save.
IMPORTANT: If you edit settings for Login method, All cameras view and Outputs and events,
while you are connected to the XProtect Mobile client, you must restart the XProtect Mobile client for
the new settings to take effect.
Delete a Mobile server
1. From the navigation pane, expand Servers > Mobile Servers in order to see existing servers.
2. Right-click the unwanted server and select Delete.
3. Click Yes.
Rename a Mobile server
1. From the navigation pane, expand Servers > Mobile Servers in order to see existing servers.
2. Select the required Mobile server.
3. On the Info tab, which opens once the Mobile server is selected, change the name of the
server by typing in the Server name and Description fields.
4. In the lower right corner, click Apply.
5. In the toolbar, click File > Save.
www.milestonesys.com
185
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Add a Video push channel
To add a Video push channel (see "About Video push" on page 184), do the following:
1. On the Video Push tab, select the Video push checkbox.
2. Add a video push channel by changing the number of channels from 0 (default) to the number
of video push channels needed. Once added, video push channels appear in the Channels
mapping.
3. Click File > Save.
4. Add the Mobile server as a hardware device (see "Add a Video push channel as a hardware
device" on page 186) to the video management system by specifying the IP address of the
Mobile server (the Mobile server must be added manually and will not be detected in automatic
hardware searches). Once finished, click Apply.
5. On the Video Push tab, click Find Cameras. If successful, the newly added Video push
hardware device appears in this list and is ready to use.
6. Click Apply.
7. Click File > Save.
Add a Video push channel as a hardware device
If you add a Video push channel, you must add the Video push driver to your Management
Application/Management Client. To do so:
1. Open the Add New Hardware Wizard in your Management Application/Management Client.
2. Choose the Manual option. The Video push driver will not be detected in automatic hardware
searches.
3. Specify hardware information settings and select the hardware driver manually.
4. Once finished, your Video push driver is ready and can be used in your XProtect Mobile client.
Add hardware devices settings
Specify the following settings when you add a Video Push driver in the Add Hardware Devices
wizard:
Name
Description
Use:
Select if the Video push driver should added to the XProtect video
management system.
Address:
Type in the XProtect Mobile server network address.
www.milestonesys.com
186
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Name
Administrator's Manual
Description
Type in the port number for your Video push driver. The default port
is 80.
Port:
Important: You must set the same port number as you set when
you specify your Video push settings (see "Video push" on page
189). If these values are not identical, your Video push driver will
not be able to work.
User name:
Select any user name from the drop down list.
Password:
Type in the password for the Video push driver. The password for
your Video push driver is Milestone (this cannot be changed).
Hardware Driver:
Select the Video Push Driver.
Verified:
Select if the Video push driver runs on a secured HTTPS
connection.
Mobile server settings
Properties in this window:
Info ......................................................................................................... 187
Server status ......................................................................................... 188
Video push ............................................................................................. 189
Export .................................................................................................... 189
Info
Fill in and specify general settings for the Mobile server:
Name
Description
Server name:
Name of the Mobile server.
Description:
Description of the Mobile server.
Mobile server:
Choose between all Mobile servers currently installed to the
specific XProtect® video management system. Only XProtect
Mobile servers that are up and running are shown in the list.
Connection type:
Possible methods are: HTTP only, HTTP and HTTPS or HTTPS
Only.
Client timeout (HTTP)
Default time frame (30 sec.) for how often the Mobile server client
must indicate to the Mobile server server that it is up and running.
Milestone recommends that you do not increase the time frame.
Login method:
www.milestonesys.com
Select how you want to log in to the Mobile server server should
take place. Possible methods are: Automatic, Windows Only or
Basic Only.
187
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
All cameras view:
Enable/disable viewing of All Cameras view. This view contains all
cameras on a recording server (user rights permitting).
Output and events:
Enable/disable output and events.
Keyframes only
Enable/disable video stream to stream key frames only.
Enabling key frames only reduces bandwidth usage.
Enabled:
Enable/disable logging of XProtect Mobile client' actions in a
separate log file.
Log file location:
Path to where log files are saved.
Keep logs for:
Number of days to keep logs for (default 3 days).
CPU usage:
Default level of CPU usage which will trigger a warning in the log.
Internal bandwidth:
Default internal bandwidth usage which will trigger a warning in the
log.
External bandwidth:
Default external bandwidth usage which will trigger a warning in the
log.
Check every:
Default time frame (30 sec.) for checking warning levels.
Note that every time you change a setting in the Mobile server settings, you must click the Apply
button followed by the Save button.
Server status
See the status details for your Mobile server. The details are read-only:
Name
Description
Server active since:
Shows how long the Mobile server has been running since it was
last stopped.
CPU usage:
Shows current CPU usage on the Mobile server.
Internal bandwidth:
Shows the current bandwidth in use between the Mobile server and
the relevant recording server.
External bandwidth:
Shows the current bandwidth in use between the mobile device and
Mobile server.
User Name column:
Shows user name(s) of the Mobile server user(s) connected to the
Mobile server.
State column:
Shows the current relation between the Mobile server and the
XProtect Mobile client user in question. Is the user connected (a
state preliminary to servers exchanging keys and encrypting
credentials) or is he/she actually logged in? Possible states are:
Connected and Logged In XProtect.
Bandwidth Usage column:
Shows the level of bandwidth used by the Mobile server client user
in question.
www.milestonesys.com
188
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Live Streams column:
Shows the number of live video streams currently open for the
XProtect Mobile client user in question.
Playback Streams column:
Shows the number of playback video streams currently open for the
Mobile server client user in question.
Note that every time you change a setting in the Mobile server settings, you must click the Apply
button followed by the Save button.
Video push
If you enable Video push, specify the following settings:
Name
Description
Video push
Enable Video push on the Mobile server.
Number of channels
Specify the number of enabled Video push channels in your
XProtect Professional system.
Channel column
Shows the channel number for the relevant channel. Non-editable.
Port
Port number for the relevant Video push channel.
MAC
MAC address for the relevant Video push channel.
User Name
Enter the user name associated with the relevant channel.
Camera Name
Shows the name of the camera if the cameras has been identified.
Once you have completed all necessary steps (see "Add a Video push channel" on page 186), click
Find Cameras to search for the relevant camera.
Note that every time you change a setting in the Mobile server settings, you must click the Apply
button followed by the Save button.
Export
Specify the settings for exported recordings:
Name
Description
Export
Enable export in clients.
Export to:
Specify the location to which recordings should be exported.
Delete exported recordings
older than:
Enter the number of days to pass before recordings are deleted.
Limit size of exports folder to:
Enter a number to set a maximum limit for the folder to which the
recordings are exported.
Include timestamps:
Add timestamps to exported video.
In the columns, see the following details for every individual exported recording:
Name column
www.milestonesys.com
Name of the exported recording.
189
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
State column
State of the exported recording.
Camera column
The camera that provided the exported recording.
Timestamp column
The point of time when the exported recording took place.
Duration column
The length of the exported recording.
User column
The name of the user who provided the exported recording.
MB column
The size of the exported recording.
Note that every time you change a setting in the Mobile server settings, you must click the Apply
button followed by the Save button.
Mobile Server Manager
About Mobile Server Manager
The Mobile Server Manager is a tray-controlled feature connected to Mobile server.
Right-clicking the Mobile Server Manager icon in the system tray opens a menu from which Mobile
server functionality can be easily accessed. You can:

Open XProtect Web Client (see "Access XProtect Web Client" on page 17)

Start, stop and restart the Mobile service (see "Start, stop and restart Mobile service" on page
192)

Fill in or change surveillance server credentials (see "Fill in/edit surveillance server credentials"
on page 192)

Show/edit port numbers (on page 192)

Edit certificate (on page 191)

Open today's log file (see "Access logs and exports" on page 191)

Open log folder (see "Access logs and exports" on page 191)

Open export folder (see "Access logs and exports" on page 191)

Show Mobile server status (see "About show status" on page 190)

Access the XProtect Mobile Help website where you find manuals, FAQS and product
demonstration videos.
About show status
If you right-click the Mobile Server Manager and select Show Status... (or double-click the Mobile
Server Manager icon), a window opens, showing the status of the Mobile server. You can see the
following:
www.milestonesys.com
190
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Server running since:
Time and date of the time when the Mobile server was last started.
Connected users:
Number of users currently connected to the Mobile server.
CPU usage:
How many % of the CPU is currently being used by the Mobile
server.
CPU usage history:
A graph detailing the history of CPU usage by the Mobile server.
Access logs and exports
The Mobile Server Manager lets you quickly access the log file of the day, open the folder to which
logs files are saved, and open the folder to which exports are saved. To open any one of these, rightclick the Mobile Server Manager and select Open Today's Log File, Open Log Folder or Open
Export Folder respectively.
Important: If you uninstall XProtect Mobile from your system, its log files are not deleted.
Administrators with proper rights can access these log files at a later timer, or decide to delete them if
they are not needed any longer. The default location of the log files is in the ProgramData folder. If you
change the default location of log files, existing logs are not copied to the new location nor are they
deleted.
Edit certificate
If you want to use a secure HTTPS protocol to establish connection between your mobile device or the
XProtect Web Client and the Mobile server, you must have a valid certificate for the device or web
browser to accept it without warning. The certificate confirms that the certificate holder is authorized to
establish the connection.
When you install the Mobile server, you generate a self-signed certificate if you run a Typical
installation. If you run a Custom installation, you get the choice between generating a self-signed
certificate or loading a file containing a certificate issued by another trusted site. If you, at a later point,
want change the certificate you use, you can do this from the Mobile Server Manager.
1. Right-click the Mobile Server Manager and select Edit Certificate...
2. Choose whether you want to either:

Generate a self-signed certificate or

Load a certificate file.
Generate a self-signed certificate
1. Choose the Generate a self-signed certificate option and click OK.
2. Wait for a few seconds while the system installs the certificate.
3. Once finished, a window opens and informs you that the certificate was installed successfully.
The Mobile service is restarted for the changes to take effect.
www.milestonesys.com
191
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Locate a certificate file
1. Choose the Load a certificate file option.
2. Fill in the path for the certificate file or click the ... box to open a window where you can browse
for the file.
3. Fill in the password connected to the certificate file.
4. When finished, click OK.
Note that HTTPS is not supported on Windows XP and Windows 2003 operating systems and works
on Windows Vista or newer Windows OS only.
Fill in/edit surveillance server credentials
1. Right-click the Mobile Server Manager and select Surveillance Server Credentials...
2. Fill in the Server URL
3. Select what user you want to log in as:

Local system administrator (no credentials needed) or

A specified user account (credentials needed)
1. If you have chosen a specified user account, fill in User Name and Password.
2. When finished, click OK.
Show/edit port numbers
1. Right-click the Mobile Server Manager and select Show/Edit Port Numbers...
2. To edit the port numbers, fill in the relevant port number. You can indicate a standard port
number (for HTTP connections) and/or a secured port number (for HTTPS connections).
3. When finished, click OK.
Start, stop and restart Mobile service
If needed, you can start, stop and restart the Mobile service from the Mobile Server Manager. To
perform any of these tasks, right-click the Mobile Server Manager and select Start Mobile service,
Stop Mobile service or Restart Mobile service respectively.
Alarms
About alarms
The Alarms feature is a Milestone Integration Platform (MIP) (see "About MIP plug-ins" on page 199)
based feature using functionality handled by the Event server. It provides central overview and control
of alarms in any number of XProtect Professional installations throughout your organization.
www.milestonesys.com
192
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
You can configure alarms to be generated based on either:

Internal events (system-related): for example, motion, server responding/not responding,
archiving problems, lack of disk space, etc.

External events (integrated): for example, MIP plug-in events.
In addition, the Alarms feature deals with general alarms settings and alarm logging.
Configuring alarms
Alarm configuration includes among other things:

Dynamic setup of alarm handling (see "Add an alarm" on page 195) based on users access
rights

Central overview of all components: servers, cameras, and external units

Setup of central logging of all incoming alarms and system information

Handling of plug-ins, allowing customized integration of other systems, for example external
access control or VCA-based systems.
Viewing alarms
The following can play a role with regards to alarms and who can view/control/manage them and to
what degree. This is because alarms are controlled by the visibility of the object causing the alarm.
Source/device visibility: if the device causing the alarm is not set to be visible to the user, the user will
not be able to see the alarm in the alarm list in the Smart Client. See Configure User Access wizard
(on page 68).
Right to trigger manually defined events: if manually defined events (see "Add a manual event" on
page 128) are available in your XProtect Professional system, these can determine if the user can
trigger selected manually defined events in the Smart Client. See Configure User Access wizard (on
page 68).
External plug-ins: if any external plug-ins are set up in your system, these might control user's rights to
handle alarms.
General access rights: can determine whether the user is allowed to (only) view or also to manage
alarms. See Configure User Access wizard (on page 68).
Time profiles for alarms
Alarms can also be based on time profiles (for alarms) (see "Add a time profile (for Alarms)" on page
194). Alarm's time profiles are periods of time used when creating alarm definitions. You can, for
example, create a time profile for alarms covering the period from 2.30 PM till 3.30 PM on Mondays,
and then use the time profile to make sure that certain alarm definitions are only enabled within this
period.
Frequently asked questions: XProtect Central and alarms
Does Alarms cover the same functionality as XProtect Central? Yes, to a large extent, since
configuration of former XProtect Central functionality is now included in the Alarms feature. XProtect
Central was an independent product consisting of two parts: a dedicated server and a number of
dedicated clients. Alarms, on the other hand, is an integrated part of XProtect Professional. This
www.milestonesys.com
193
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
means that much configuration needed in XProtect Central has become redundant with the
introduction of alarms. Client-wise the Alarms feature uses the XProtect Smart Client.
However, the features Alarms, Time Profiles (for Alarms) and General Settings, must still be
configured in the Management Application and are very similar to XProtect Central.
Can I reuse old alarm and map definitions from XProtect Central? No, you will have to redefine
your alarms and maps definitions in the Alarms feature.
Does the Alarms feature cover the same functionality as XProtect Analytics Generic VA? Yes,
to a large extent, since what was before a plug-in to XProtect Analytics is now an integrated part of the
Alarms feature and covers the same functionality. See also 'Does Alarms cover the same
functionality as XProtect Central?' FAQ earlier.
Tip: You can even use manual events for triggering alarms and, if required, the same event can be
used to trigger several different alarms.
About alarms in the Smart Client
To ease overview, delegation and handling of alarms, these will appear in the Smart Client alarm list
where it is possible to view and manage these (reassign, change status, comment, and similar). They
can, if relevant, be integrated with map functionality. The Alarms feature is a powerful monitoring tool,
providing instant overview of alarms and possible technical problems.
IMPORTANT: It is only possible to view alarms based on the Alarms feature in Smart Client 6.0 if you
run Smart Client 6.0 in a 32-bit version—not in a 64-bit version.
Add a time profile (for Alarms)
Time Profiles are periods of time used for the Alarms (see "About alarms" on page 192) feature only.
Tip: For all other time scheduling and profiling purposes, use the general scheduler of XProtect
Professional.
You can, for example, create a time profile covering the period from 2.30 PM till 3.30 PM on Mondays,
and then use the time profile to make sure that a certain alarm definition is only enabled within this
period.
They can be based on one or more single periods of time, on one or more recurring periods of time, or
a combination of single and recurring times. Many users will be familiar with the concepts of single and
recurring time periods from calendar applications, such as the one in Microsoft Outlook.
Time profiles always apply in the XProtect Professional server's local time.
To add a time profile (for an alarm (see "Add an alarm" on page 195)), do the following:
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Alarms, right-click Time Profiles,
and select Create New.
Tip: The small month overview in the top right corner of the Time Profile Properties window
can help you get a quick overview of the time periods covered by the time profile, as dates
containing specified times are highlighted in bold.
2. In the calendar, select the Day View, Week View, or Month View tab, then right-click inside
the calendar and select either Add Single Time... or Add Recurring Time....
3. If you select Add Single Time..., specify Start time and End time. If the time is to cover whole
days, select the All-day event box.
www.milestonesys.com
194
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
—or—
If you select Add Recurring Time..., specify time range, recurrence pattern, and range of
recurrence.
Tip: If you select a time period by dragging in the calendar before right-clicking, the selected
period will automatically be used in the dialog that appears when you select Add Single
Time... or Add Recurring Time....
4. Click OK.
5. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Tip: When you edit an existing time profile, remember that a time profile may contain more than one
time period, and that time periods may be recurring. If you want your time profile to contain additional
periods of time, add more single times or recurring times.
Add an alarm
For a detailed overview of Alarms and how the feature works, see About alarms (on page 192).
To add/configure an alarm, do the following:
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Alarms, right-click Alarm
Definition and select Create New.
2. Specify required properties (see "Alarms definition" on page 195).
3. Click OK.
4. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
Configure analytics events in alarms
Analytics events (see "Overview of events and output" on page 125) are typically data received from
external third-party video content analysis (VCA) (see "VCA" on page 222) providers. An example of a
VCA-based system could be an access control system.
Alarms properties
Properties in this window:
Alarms definition .................................................................................... 195
Alarm data settings ................................................................................ 197
Sound settings ....................................................................................... 198
Time profile ............................................................................................ 199
Alarms definition
When you configure Alarm definitions (see "Add an alarm" on page 195), specify the following:
www.milestonesys.com
195
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Enable
Enables the Alarms feature.
Enter a name. The alarm's name will appear whenever the alarm is
listed.
Name
Tip: Alarm names do not have to be unique, but using unique and
descriptive alarm names are advantageous in many situations.
Description
Enter a description (optional).
This list offers both system-related events and plug-ins. You can
select the event message which should be used when the alarm is
triggered:
Triggering event
List of selectable triggering events;
the highlighted one is created and
customized using analytics events.
Sources
Select which cameras and/or other devices, including plug-in
defined sources (VCA, MIP, etc) (see "About alarms" on page 192),
the event should originate from in order to trigger the alarm. Your
options depend upon which type of event you have selected.
Time profile
If you select Time profile, you must select when the alarm should
be enabled for triggering. If you have not defined alarm time profiles
(see "Add a time profile (for Alarms)" on page 194), you will only be
able to select Always. If you have defined one or more time
profiles, they will be selectable from this list.
Event based
If you select Event based, you must select which events should
start and stop the alarm. Events available for selection are
hardware events defined on cameras, video servers and input. Also
global/manual event definitions (see "Add a manual event" on page
128) can be used.
Note that when selecting Event based it is not possible to define
alarms based on outputs—only on inputs.
Time Limit
Select the time-limit within which the operator must respond to the
alarm.
Events triggered
Select the event to be triggered if the operator does not react
withing the time limit specified in Time limit. This could be, for
example, sending an email, SMS or similar.
www.milestonesys.com
196
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Related cameras
Select (a maximum of 15) cameras for inclusion in the alarm
definition even though they are not themselves triggering the alarm.
This can be relevant, for example, if you have selected an external
event message (such as a door being opened) as the source of
your alarm. By defining one or more cameras near the door, you
could attach the cameras' recordings of the incident to the alarm.
Related map
Select a map to tie to the alarm definition. The selected map will
automatically be shown in the Smart Client whenever the alarm is
listed. This might help you to quicker identify the physical location of
the alarm.
Initial alarm owner
Select a default user responsible for the alarm. You can only select
from users allowed to view all cameras and/or other devices
selected as source(s) for the event causing the alarm.
Initial alarm priority
Select a priority (High, Medium or Low) for the alarm. Priorities can
be used for sorting purposes and workflow control in the Smart
Client.
Initial alarm category
Select a category to which the alarm should initially be assigned.
This could be, for example, Building01, Burglary, ElevatorEast or
similar, depending on which categories have been defined.
Event triggered by alarm
Define an event to be triggered by the alarm in the Smart Client (if
needed).
Auto-close alarm
Select if the alarm should automatically be closed upon a particular
event. This is possible for alarms triggered by some (but not all)
events.
See also Alarm data settings (on page 197) and Alarm sound settings (see "Sound settings" on page
198) for further information on how to configure alarm settings.
Alarm data settings
When you configure alarm data settings, specify the following:
Alarm Data Levels tab, Priorities
Name
Description
Level
Add new priorities with level numbers of your choosing or use/edit
the default priority levels (numbers 1, 2 or 3). These priority levels
are used to configure the Initial alarm priority setting (see "Alarms
definition" on page 195).
Name
Type a name for the entity. You can create as many as you like.
Sound
Select the sound to be associated with the alarm. Use one if the
default sounds or add more in Sound Settings (on page 198).
www.milestonesys.com
197
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Alarm Data Levels tab, States
Level
In addition to the default state levels (numbers 1, 4, 9 and 11, which
can not be edited or reused), add new states with level numbers of
your choosing. These state levels are only visible in the Smart
Client's Alarm List.
Name
Type a name for the entity. You can create as many as you like.
Alarm Data Levels tab, Categories
Level
Add new categories with level numbers of your choosing. These
category levels are used to configure the Initial alarm category
setting (see "Alarms definition" on page 195).
Name
Type a name for the entity. You can create as many as you like.
Alarm List Configuration tab
In Available columns, use > to select which columns should be available in the Smart Client's Alarm
List. Use < to clear selection. When done, Selected columns should contain the items to be included.
Reasons for Closing
tabEnable
Select to enable that all alarms must be assigned a reason for
closing before they can be closed.
Reason
Add reasons for closing that the user can choose between when
closing alarms. Examples could be "Solved-Trespasser" or "False
Alarm". You can create as many as you like.
Sound settings
When you configure Sound Settings, specify the following:
Name
Description
Select the sound to be associated with the alarm. The list of sounds
contain a number of default Windows sounds. These cannot be
edited. However, you can add new sounds of the file type .wav, but
only if these are encoded in Pulse Code Modulation (PCM).
Sounds
Although the default sounds are standard Windows sound-files,
local Windows settings might cause these to sound different on
different machines. Some users might also have deleted one or
more of these sound-files and will therefore be unable to play them.
To ensure an identical sound all over, you should import and use
your own .wav files encoded in PCM.
Lets you add sounds. Browse to the sound to upload one or several
.wav files.
Add
Remove
www.milestonesys.com
Remove a selected sound from the list of manually added sounds.
Default sounds cannot be removed.
198
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Name
Description
Test
Lets you test the sound. In the list, select the sound. The sound will
be played once.
Time profile
When you configure Time profiles (see "Add a time profile (for Alarms)" on page 194), specify the
following:
Name
Description
Name
Type a name for the time profile.
Description
Enter a description (optional).
Add Single Time
Right-click the calendar and select Add Single Time. Specify Start
time and End time. If the time covers whole days, select All-day
event.
Add Recurring Time
Right-click the calendar and select Add Recurring Time. Specify
the time range, recurrence pattern, and range of recurrence.
Right-click the calendar and select Edit Time. Specify Start time
and End time. If the time covers whole days, select All-day event.
Edit Time
When you edit an existing time profile, remember that a time profile
may contain more than one time period, and that time periods may
be recurring. If you want your time profile to contain additional
periods of time, add more single times or recurring times.
MIP plug-ins
About MIP plug-ins
If you install MIP (Milestone Integration Partner) plug-ins to your XProtect Professional, the plug-ins
can be found in the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration,
under MIP Plug-ins.
You can assign MIP-related user rights to users and user groups. You do this from the Management
Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, expand Users, right-click the
wanted user and select Properties. Under the Alarm Management tab, a tab allowing access to MIP
settings for the selected user is located.
You can also use online activation (see "About activating licenses" on page 35) in connection with
licensing schemes of MIP-related plug-ins.
www.milestonesys.com
199
Advanced configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Backup and restore configuration
About backup and restore of configurations
We recommend that you make regular backups of your XProtect Professional configuration (cameras,
schedules, views, etc.) as a disaster recovery measure. While it is rare to lose your configuration, it
can happen under unfortunate circumstances. Luckily, it takes only a minute to back up your existing
configuration.
Back up system configuration
The backup described here is a backup of your entire surveillance system setup (including, among
other things, log files, event and Matrix configuration, restore points, view groups, and Management
Application, and Smart Client configuration). Alternatively, you can export your configuration as a
backup (see "Export and import management application configuration" on page 204), which is limited
to the the Management Application configuration.
The following describes how to back up your configuration in XProtect Professional 7.0.
If you need information about how to back up a configuration from an earlier version of XProtect
Professional—a typical need when upgrading—see Upgrade from a previous version (on page 28).
In the following, we assume that you have not changed the XProtect Professional default configuration
path (see "Configure default file paths" on page 212), which is C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance on servers running Windows® XP or
Windows Server 2003, and C:\Program Data\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance on servers running
all other supported operating systems. If you have changed the default configuration path, you must
take your changes into consideration when using the method described in the following.
To back up:
1. If XProtect Professional is used on a server running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003,
make a copy of the folder C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance and all of its content.
If XProtect Professional is used on a server running any other supported operating system,
make a copy of the folder C:\Program Data\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance and all of its
content.
2. Open the folder C:\Program Files\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance\devices, and verify if
the file devices.ini exists. If the file exists, make a copy of it. The file will exist if you have
configured video properties (see "General" on page 100) for certain types of cameras; for such
cameras, changes to the properties are stored in the file rather than on the camera itself.
3. Store the copies away from the XProtect Professional server, so that they will not be affected if
the server is damaged, stolen or otherwise affected.
Remember that a backup is a snapshot of your XProtect Professional system configuration at
the time of backing up. If you later change your configuration, your backup will not reflect the
most recent changes. Therefore, back up your system configuration regularly.
www.milestonesys.com
200
Backup and restore
configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Tip: When you back up your configuration as described, the backup will include restore points
(see "Restore system configuration from a restore point" on page 206). This allows you to not
only restore the backed-up configuration, but also to revert to an earlier point in that
configuration if required.
Restore system configuration
1. If XProtect Professional is used on a server running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003,
copy the content of the backed-up Milestone Surveillance folder into C:\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Application Data\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance.
If XProtect Professional is used on a server running any other supported operating system,
copy the content of the backed-up Milestone Surveillance folder into C:\Program
Data\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance.
2. If you backed up the file devices.ini, copy the file into C:\Program Files\Milestone\Milestone
Surveillance\devices.
Back up and restore Alarms configuration
It is important that you regularly back up your XProtect Professional Alarms configurations. You do this
by backing up the event server, which handles your alarm and map configuration, and also the
Microsoft® SQL Server Express database, which stores your alarm data. This enables you to restore
your alarm and map configuration in a possible disaster recovery scenario.
Tip: Backing up also has the added benefit that it flushes the SQL Server Express database’s
transaction log.
When you back up and restore Alarms configuration, you must do it in the following order.
Prerequisites

You must have administrator rights on the SQL Server Express database when you
backup or restore your alarm configuration database on the SQL Server Express. Once you
are done backing up or restoring, you only need to be a database owner of the SQL Server
Express database.

Microsoft® SQL Server Management Studio Express, a tool you can download for free
from www.microsoft.com/downloads (see http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/). Among its many features for managing SQL Server
Express databases are some easy-to-use backup and restoration features. Download and
install the tool on your existing surveillance system server and on a possible future surveillance
system server (you will need it for backup as well as restoration).
Step 1: Stopping the Event Server service
Stop the event server service to prevent configuration changes from being made:
1. On your surveillance system server, click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools >
Services.
www.milestonesys.com
201
Backup and restore
configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
2. Right-click the Event Server, click Stop.
This is important since any changes made to alarm configurations—between the time you create a
backup and the time you restore it—will be lost. If changes are made after the backup, you will have to
make a new backup.
Note that alarms will not be generated while the Event Server service is stopped; it is thus important to
remember to start the service again once you have finished backing up the SQL database.
Step 2: Backing up alarms data in SQL Server Express database
1. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express from Windows' Start menu by
selecting All Programs > Microsoft SQL Server 2008 > SQL Server Management Studio
Express.
Tip: If you do not have SQL Server Management Studio Express, it can be downloaded for
free from www.microsoft.com/downloads (see http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/).
When you open the tool, you are prompted to connect to a server. Specify the name of the
required SQL Server and connect with admin user credentials.
Tip: You do not have to type the name of the SQL server: If you click inside the Server name
field and select <Browse for more...>, you can select the required SQL Server from a list
instead.
2. Once connected, you will see a tree structure in the Object Explorer in the left part of the
window. Expand the SQL Server item, then the Databases item, which contains your entire
alarm configuration.
3. Right-click the VIDEOOSDB database, and select Tasks > Back Up...
4. On the Back Up Database dialog's General page, do the following:
o
Under Source: Verify that the selected database is VIDEOOSDB and that the backup type
is Full.
o
Under Destination: A destination path for the backup is automatically suggested. Verify
that the path is satisfactory. If not, remove the suggested path, and add another path of
your choice.
5. On the Back Up Database dialog's Options page, under Reliability, select Verify backup
when finished and Perform checksum before writing to media.
6. Click OK to begin the backup. When backup is finished, you will see a confirmation.
7. Exit Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express.
No VIDEOOSDB database? VIDEOOSDB is the default name of the database containing the system
configuration. If you can find the database, but it is not called VIDEOOSDB, it could be because you
gave the database another name during the installation. In the following, we will assume that the
database uses the default name.
www.milestonesys.com
202
Backup and restore
configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Step 3: Reinstalling XProtect Professional (if needed) (see "Install your surveillance
server software" on page 26).
Step 4: Restoring alarms data in SQL Server Express database
Luckily, most users never need to restore their backed-up alarm data, but if you ever need to, do the
following:
1. In the Windows Start menu, open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express.
Tip: If you do not have SQL Server Management Studio Express, it can be downloaded for
free from www.microsoft.com/downloads (see http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/).
2. Connect to a server. Specify the name of the required SQL Server, and connect using the user
account the database was created with.
Tip: You do not have to type the name of the SQL server: If you click inside the Server name
field and select <Browse for more...>, you can select the required SQL Server from a list
instead.
3. In the Object Explorer on the left, expand SQL Server < Databases, right-click the
VIDEOOSDB database, and then select Tasks > Restore > Database...
VIDEOOSDB is the default name of the database containing the system configuration. If you
can find the database, but it is not called VIDEOOSDB, it could be because you gave the
database another name during installation. In the following, we will assume that the database
uses the default name.
4. In the Restore Database dialog, on the General page, under Source for restore, select
From device and click <Browse for more...>, to the right of the field. In the Specify Backup
dialog, make sure that File is selected in the Backup media list. Click Add.
5. In the Locate Backup File dialog, locate and select your backup file VIDEOOSDB.bak. Then
click OK. The path to your backup file is now listed in the Specify Backup dialog.
6. Back on the Restore Database dialog's General page, your backup is now listed under Select
the backup sets to restore. Make sure you select the backup by selecting the check box in
the Restore column.
7. Now go to the Restore Database dialog's Options page, and select Overwrite the existing
database. Leave the other options as they are, and then click OK to begin the restoration.
When the restore is finished, you will see a confirmation.
Tip: If you get an error message telling you that the database is in use, try exiting Microsoft
SQL Server Management Studio Express completely, then repeat steps 1-9.
8. Exit Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express.
Step 5: Restarting the Event Server service
During the restore process, the Event Server service was stopped to prevent configuration changes
being made until you were done. Remember to start the service again:
1. On your surveillance system server, click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools >
Services.
www.milestonesys.com
203
Backup and restore
configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
2. Right-click the Event Server, click Start.
What is the SQL Server Express transaction log and why does it need to be flushed?
Each time a change in the XProtect Professional alarm data occurs, the SQL Server will log the
change in its transaction log. The transaction log is essentially a security feature that makes it possible
to roll back and undo changes to the SQL Server Express database. The SQL Server by default stores
its transaction log indefinitely, and therefore the transaction log will over time build up more and more
entries.
The SQL Server's transaction log is by default located on the system drive, and if the transaction log
just grows and grows, it may in the end prevent Windows from running properly. Flushing the SQL
Server's transaction log from time to time is therefore a good idea; flushing it does not in itself make
the transaction log file smaller, but it prevents it from growing out of control. XProtect Professional
does not, however, automatically flush the SQL Server's transaction log at specific intervals. This is
because users have different needs. Some want to be able to undo changes for a very long time,
others do not care; what would suit one organization's needs could be problematic for others.
You can do several things on the SQL Server itself to keep the size of the transaction log down,
including truncating and/or shrinking the transaction log (for numerous articles on this topic, go to
support.microsoft.com (see http://support.microsoft.com - http://support.microsoft.com) and search for
SQL Server transaction log). However, backing up the XProtect Professional database is generally a
better option since it flushes the SQL Server's transaction log and gives you the security of being able
to restore your XProtect Professional alarm data in case something unexpected happens.
Export and import management application
configuration
You can export the current configuration of your XProtect Professional Management Application, either
as a safety measure in order to have a backup file of your configuration, or as a clone allowing you to
use a similar Management Application configuration elsewhere. You can subsequently import
previously exported Management Application configurations.
Export Management Application configuration as backup
With this option, all relevant XProtect Professional Management Application configuration files will be
combined into one single .xml file, which can then be saved at a location specified by you. Note that if
there are unsaved changes to your configuration, they will automatically be saved when you export the
configuration.
1. In the Management Application's File menu, select Export Configuration - Backup.
2. Browse to the location at which you want to store the exported configuration, specify a suitable
file name, and click Save.
If you intend to set up an identical version of your surveillance system elsewhere, do not export your
configuration as backup, since this may lead to the same device information being used twice, in
which case clients may get the following error message: Application is not able to start because
two (or more) cameras are using the same name or ID. Instead, export your configuration as a
clone. When you export as a clone, the export takes into account the fact that you will not use the
www.milestonesys.com
204
Backup and restore
configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
exact same physical cameras, etc. even though your new system may otherwise be identical to your
existing one.
What is the difference between this Management Application configuration backup and the
system configuration backup done from the Milestone Surveillance folder? Those are two
different things. The backup described here is limited to a backup of the Management Application
configuration. The type of system configuration backup done from the Milestone Surveillance folder is
a backup of your entire surveillance system setup (including, among other things, log files, event
configuration, restore points, view groups, and Management Application, and Smart Client
configuration).
When you install the new version of XProtect Professional, it inherits the configuration from your
previous version.
We recommend that you make regular backups of your server configuration as a disaster recovery
measure. You should also do this when you upgrade your server. While it is rare that you lose your
configuration (cameras, schedules, views, etc), it can happen under unfortunate circumstances.
Fortunately, it takes only a minute to back up your existing configuration.
Export Management Application configuration as clone
With this option, all relevant XProtect Professional Management Application configuration files will be
collected, and GUIDs (Globally Unique IDentifiers; unique 128-bit numbers used for identifying
individual system components, such as cameras) will be marked for later replacement.
Why are GUIDs marked for replacement? GUIDs are marked for later replacement because they
refer to specific components (cameras, etc.). Even though you wish to use the cloned configuration for
setting up a new similar system using similar types of cameras, the new system will not use the exact
same physical cameras as the cloned system. When the cloned configuration is later used in a new
system, the GUIDs will therefore be replaced with GUIDs representing the specific components of the
new system.
After GUIDs have been marked for replacement, the configuration files will be combined into one
single .xml file, which can then be saved at a location specified by you. Note that if there are unsaved
changes to your configuration, they will automatically be saved when you export the configuration.
1. In the Management Application's File menu, select Export Configuration - Clone.
2. Browse to the location at which you want to store the exported configuration, specify a suitable
file name, and click Save.
Import previously exported Management Application configuration
The same import method is used regardless of whether the XProtect Professional Management
Application configuration was exported as a backup or a clone.
1. In the Management Application's File menu, select Import Configuration.
2. Browse to the location from which you want to import the configuration, select the required
configuration file, and click Open.
3. Only relevant if the system into which you import the configuration contains devices (cameras,
etc.) which are not present in the imported configuration: You will be asked whether you want
to delete or keep recordings from affected devices. If keeping the recordings, note that they
will not be accessible until you add the affected devices to XProtect Professional again. Select
the required option, and click OK.
www.milestonesys.com
205
Backup and restore
configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
4. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, and
select Services.
5. For the Recording Server and Image Server services respectively, click the Restart button.
When the two services are restarted, the imported Management Application configuration is
applied.
Import changes to configuration
It is possible to imported changes to a configuration. This can be relevant if installing many similar
XProtect Professional systems, for example in a chain of shops where the same types of server,
hardware devices, and cameras are used in each shop. In such cases, you can use an existing
configuration—typically a cloned configuration (see "Export and import management application
configuration" on page 204)—as a template for the other installations. However, since the shops'
installations are not exactly the same (the hardware devices and cameras are of the same type, but
they are not physically the same, and therefore they have different MAC addresses), there needs to be
an easy way of importing changes to the template configuration.
This is why XProtect Professional lets you import changes about hardware devices and cameras as
comma-separated values (CSV) from a file (see "CSV file format and requirements" on page 52):
1. From the menu bar, select File > Import Changes to Configuration...
2. Select Online verification if the new hardware devices and cameras listed in your CSV file
are connected to the server and you want to verify that they can be reached.
3. Then point to the CSV file, and click the Import Configuration from File button.
Restore system configuration from a restore point
Restore points allow you to return to a previous configuration state. Each time a configuration change
is applied in the Management Application—either by clicking OK in a properties dialog or by clicking
the Apply button in a summary pane—a new restore point is created.
All restore points in the current and previous five sessions are stored and can be selected again. A
new session begins each time the Management Application is started as well as each time you save
the whole configuration, for example by clicking the Save Configuration button in the Management
Application's toolbar. For sessions older than the last five sessions, only the latest restore point of
each session is stored. With the Number of old sessions to keep field you can control how many old
sessions are kept.
When selecting to restore a configuration from a restore point, the configuration from the selected
restore point will be applied and used once the services are restarted (see Start and stop services (on
page 184)).
If you have added new cameras or other devices to XProtect Professional after the restore point was
created, they will be missing if you load the restore point. This is due to the fact that they were not in
the system when the restore point was created. In such cases, you will be notified and must decide
what to do with recordings from the affected devices.
1. From the Management Application's File menu, select Load Configuration from Restore
Point...
2. In the left part of the Restore Points dialog, select the required restore point.
www.milestonesys.com
206
Backup and restore
configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Tip: When you select a restore point, you will in the right part of the dialog see information
about the configuration state at the selected point in time. This can help you select the best
possible restore point.
3. Click the Load Restore Point button.
4. If you are sure that you want to overwrite the current configuration with the one from the
selected restore point, click OK.
5. Only relevant if the current configuration contains cameras or other devices which were not
present in the selected restore point: You will be asked whether you want to delete or keep
recordings from affected devices. If keeping the recordings, note that they will not be
accessible until you add the affected devices to XProtect Professional again. Select the
required option, and click OK.
6. Click OK in the Restore Points dialog.
7. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, and
select Services.
8. For the Recording Server and Image Server services respectively, click the Restart button.
When the two services are restarted, the configuration from the selected restore point is
applied.
www.milestonesys.com
207
Backup and restore
configuration
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Common tasks
About handling daylight saving time
Daylight saving time (DST, also known as summer time) is the practice of advancing clocks in order
for evenings to have more daylight and mornings to have less. Typically, clocks are moved forward
one hour during the spring season and adjusted backward during the fall season. Note that use of
DST varies between countries/regions.
When working with a surveillance system, which is inherently time-sensitive, it is important to know
how the system handles DST.
Spring: Switch from Standard Time to DST
The change from standard time to DST is not much of an issue since you jump one hour forward.
Typically, the clock jumps forward from 02:00 standard time to 03:00 DST, and the day thereby has 23
hours. In that case, there is no data between 02:00 and 03:00 in the morning since that hour, for that
day, did not exist.
Fall: Switch from DST to Standard Time
When you switch from DST to standard time in the fall, you jump one hour back. Typically, the clock
jumps backward from 02:00 DST to 01:00 standard time, repeating that hour, and the day thereby has
25 hours. In that case, you will reach 01:59:59, then immediately revert back to 01:00:00. If the system
did not react, it would essentially re-record that hour, so the first instance of, for example, 01:30 would
be overwritten by the second instance of 01:30.
Because of this, XProtect Professional will forcefully archive the current video in the event that the
system time changes by more than five minutes. The first instance of the 01:00 hour will not be
viewable directly from clients. However, the data is recorded and safe, and it can be browsed using
the Smart Client application by opening the archived database directly.
Improve stability with 3 GB virtual memory
Microsoft Windows 32-bit operating systems can address 4 GB of virtual memory. The operating
system kernel reserves 2 GB for itself, and each individual running process is allowed to address
another 2 GB. This is a default setting in Windows, and for the vast majority of XProtect Professional
installations it works fine.
As from XProtect Professional 6.5, the main components of the server—the Recording Server service
and the Image Server service—have been compiled with the LARGEADDRESSAWARE flag. This
means you can optimize the memory usage of the XProtect Professional Recording Server and Image
Server services by configuring your 32-bit Windows operating system so that it restricts the kernel to
1GB of memory, leaving 3GB of address space for processes compiled with the
LARGEADDRESSAWARE flag.
This should improve the stability of especially the Recording Server service by allowing it to exceed
the previous 2 GB virtual memory limit, making it possible for it to use up to 3 GB of memory. The
change in Windows configuration is known as 3 GB switching.
www.milestonesys.com
208
Common tasks
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
When is 3 GB switching relevant?
For very large XProtect Professional installations and/or for installations with many megapixel cameras
it can be relevant to change Windows settings so that only 1 GB of virtual memory is reserved for the
operating system kernel, leaving 3 GB for running processes.
If you use the Windows default setting, with only 2 GB virtual memory reserved for running processes,
the Recording Server service in very large installations of XProtect Professional may:

Behave erratically when it gets close to the 2 GB virtual memory limit. Symptoms can include
database corruption, and client-server or camera-server communication errors.

Become unstable and crash if it exceeds the 2 GB virtual memory limit. During such crashes,
the code managing the surveillance system databases is not closed properly, and databases
will become corrupt. In case of a crash, Windows will normally restart the Recording Server
service. However, when the Recording Server service is restarted, one of its first tasks will be
to repair the databases. The database repair process can in some cases take several hours,
depending on the amount of data in the corrupted databases.
If you experience problems, and you run XProtect Professional 6.5 or newer, making Windows use 3
GB for running processes is likely to solve the problems. If you have not experienced problems, but
you run XProtect Professional 6.5 or newer and your XProtect Professional installation is very large
and/or features many megapixel cameras, 3 GB switching can help prevent the problems from
occurring.
The way to configure 32-bit Windows to be LARGEADDRESSAWARE depends on your type of
Windows operating system. In the following, you will see two methods outlining Microsoft's
recommended procedure for increasing the per-process memory limit to 3 GB. Use the first method if
running Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003. Use the second method if running
Windows 2008 Server, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise or Windows Vista
Ultimate.
What to do: If running Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003
The following technique can be used to add the 3 GB switch to the boot.ini file.
1. From a command prompt, enter the following to add the 3 GB switch to the end of the first line
of the operating system section in the boot.ini file (requires administrative privileges):
BOOTCFG /RAW "/3GB" /A /ID 1
Where:
o
/RAW specifies the operating system options for the boot entry. The previous operating
system options will be modified.
o
"/3GB" specifies the 3 GB switch.
o
/A specifies that the operating system options entered with the /RAW switch will be
appended to the existing operating system options.
o
/ID specifies the boot entry ID in the OS Load Options section of the boot.ini file to add the
operating system options to. The boot entry ID number can be obtained by performing the
command BOOTCFG /QUERY (this displays the contents of the boot.ini file) at the
command prompt.
2. Reboot after editing the boot.ini file for the changes to take effect.
www.milestonesys.com
209
Common tasks
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Remove the 3 GB Switch
Remove the 3 GB switch
If you want to undo the 3 GB switch, follow this procedure:
1. Select Start > Control Panel, and double-click the System icon.
2. Select the Advanced tab, and click the Settings button in the Startup and Recovery section.
3. Click the Edit button in the System Startup section. The boot.ini file will launch in an editor.
4. Remove the "/3GB" from the end of the appropriate boot entry line under the [operating
systems] section. Save and close the file.
5. Click OK in the Startup and Recovery section.
6. Reboot after editing the boot.ini file for the changes to take effect.
What to do: If running Windows 2008 Server or Windows Vista
1. Select Start > All Programs > Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run
as administrator, then click Continue.
2. Enter the following command to add the 3 GB switch to the current operating system boot
entry:
BCDEDIT /SET INCREASEUSERVA 3072
Where:
o
USERVA specifies an alternate amount of user-mode virtual address space for operating
systems.
o
3072 Specifies 3 GB (3072 MB).
3. Reboot after editing for the changes to take effect.
Remove the /3GB switch
1. Select Start > All Programs > Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run
as administrator, then click Continue.
2. Enter the following command to remove the 3 GB switch from the current operating system
boot entry:
BCDEDIT /DELETEVALUE INCREASEUSERVA
3. Reboot after editing for the changes to take effect.
About protecting recording databases from corruption
In the Management Application, you can select which action to take if a camera database becomes
corrupted. The actions include several database repair options. While being able to select such
actions is highly valuable, it is of course even better to take steps to ensure that your camera
databases do not become corrupted.
www.milestonesys.com
210
Common tasks
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Power outages: use a UPS
The single most common reason for corrupt databases is the recording server being shut down
abruptly, without files being saved and without the operating system being closed down properly. This
may happen due to power outages, due to somebody accidentally pulling out the server's power cable,
or similar.
The best way of protecting your recording servers from being shut down abruptly is to equip each of
your recording servers with a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply).
The UPS works as a battery-driven secondary power source, providing the necessary power for
saving open files and safely powering down your system in the event of power irregularities. UPSs
vary in sophistication, but many UPSs include software for automatically saving open files, for alerting
system administrators, etc.
Selecting the right type of UPS for your organization's environment is an individual process. When
assessing your needs, however, do bear in mind the amount of runtime you will require the UPS to be
able to provide if the power fails; saving open files and shutting down an operating system properly
may take several minutes.
Windows Task Manager: Be careful when ending processes
When working in Windows Task Manager, be careful not to end any processes which affect the
surveillance system. If you end an application or system service by clicking End Process in the
Windows Task Manager, the process will not be given the chance to save its state or data before it is
terminated. This may lead to corrupt camera databases.
Windows Task Manager will typically display a warning if you attempt to end a process. Unless you
are absolutely sure that ending the process will not affect the surveillance system, click No when the
warning message asks you if you really want to terminate the process.
Hard disk failure: Protect your drives
About viewing version and license information
Knowing the exact version of your XProtect Professional system may be relevant if you require
support, or want to upgrade your system. It may also be relevant for you to know your license
information and what contact details Milestone has registered about your organization.
If you have purchased a Software Upgrade Plan (SUP), information about the expiration date of the
SUP may also be important you to know.
To view such information, select About... in the Management Application Help menu.
If you need to update any of your information, click the link provided at the bottom to log on to the
Milestone website from which you can update your information.
Apply/save configuration changes
Whenever you make changes in your XProtect Professional configuration, you will be asked to apply
them.

If you made the changes in one of the Management Application dialogs, you apply them by
clicking OK.
www.milestonesys.com
211
Common tasks
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1

Administrator's Manual
If you made the changes in one of the Management Application summary tables, click Apply.
Applying a configuration change means that the change is stored by XProtect Professional in a restore
point (see "Restore system configuration from a restore point" on page 206) (so that you can return to
a working configuration if something goes wrong), but applying a configuration change does not mean
that the changes will take immediate effect on the surveillance system.
To store your configuration change in the configuration file:
1. In the Management Application toolbar click the Save Configuration button.
2. For your configuration changes to have immediate effect, on the Management Application
toolbar, click Save Changes and Restart Surveillance Services.
If you do not restart immediately, your configuration changes will take effect the next time you
restart XProtect Professional services (see "About services" on page 183).
IMPORTANT: While services are restarted, you cannot view or record video. Restarting
services typically only takes a few seconds, but in order to minimize disruption you may want
to restart services at a time when you do not expect important incidents. Users connected to
XProtect Professional through clients will typically remain logged in during the services restart,
but they will experience a short video outage.
Configure default file paths
XProtect Professional uses a number of default file paths:
File paths
Description
All new cameras you add will by default use this path for storing
recordings. If required, you can change individual cameras'
Default recording path for new recording paths as part of their individual configuration (see
"Recording and archiving paths" on page 106), but you can also
cameras
change the default recording path so all new cameras you add will
use a path of your choice.
All new cameras you add will by default use this path for archiving
(see "About archiving" on page 143). If required, you can change
individual cameras' archiving paths as part of their individual
Default archiving path for new configuration, but you can also change the default recording path so
cameras
all new cameras you add will use a path of your choice. Note that
camera-specific archiving paths are not relevant if using dynamic
path selection (on page 86) for archiving.
Configuration path
The path by default used for storing your XProtect Professional
system configuration.
To change any of the default file paths:
1. If you want to change the configuration path, stop (see "Start and stop services" on page 184)
all services. This step is not necessary if you want to change the default recording or archiving
path.
2. On the Management Application menu bar, select Application Settings > Default File
Paths...
www.milestonesys.com
212
Common tasks
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
3. You can now overwrite the necessary paths. Alternatively, click the browse button next to the
field and browse to the location.
For the default recording path, you can only specify a path to a folder on a local drive. If you
are using a network drive, you cannot save recordings if the network drive becomes
unavailable.
If you change the default recording or archiving paths and there are existing recordings at the
old locations, you must select whether you want to move the recordings to the new locations
(recommended), leave them at the old locations, or delete them.
4. Click OK.
5. Save your configuration changes by clicking the Save Configuration button on the
Management Application toolbar.
6. Restart (see "Start and stop services" on page 184) all services.
Monitor storage space usage
To view how much storage space you have on your XProtect Professional system—and not least how
much of it is free—do the following:
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, and
select Cameras and Storage Information.
2. View the Storage Usage Summary for information about, which drives are available, what
drives are used for, the size of each drive, as well as how much video data, other data, and
free space there is in each drive.
View video from cameras in Management Application
You can view live video from single cameras directly in the Management Application:
1. In the Management Application's navigation pane, expand Advanced Configuration, and
expand Cameras and Storage Information.
2. Select the required camera to view live video from that camera. Above the live video, you will
find a summary of the most important properties for the selected camera. Below the live video,
you will find information about the camera's resolution and average image file size. For
cameras using MPEG or H.264, you will also see the bit rate in Mbit/second.
IMPORTANT: Viewing of live video in the Management Application may under certain
circumstances affect any simultaneous recording from the camera in question. Especially three
scenarios are important to consider:
1) Some cameras supporting multistreaming may halve their frame rate or respond with other
negative effects when a second stream is opened.
2) If a camera delivers live video in a very high quality, de-coding of images may increase the
load on the Recording Server service, which may in turn affect ongoing recordings negatively.
3) Cameras that do not support multiple simultaneous video streams cannot connect to the
surveillance server and the Management Application at the same time. Therefore, we
www.milestonesys.com
213
Common tasks
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
recommended stopping (see "Start and stop services" on page 184) the Recording Server
service when configuring such devices for motion detection and PTZ. See also View video
from cameras in Management Application (on page 213).
www.milestonesys.com
214
Common tasks
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
AVI
Glossary of terms
A popular file format for video. Files in this
format carry the .avi file extension.
Symbols & Numeric
B
360 degrees panomorph support
Browser
Cameras with 360 degrees panomorph
support offer—as the name indicates—360
degree coverage and can survey an entire
area without blind spots or distorted images.
A software application for finding and
displaying web pages.
C
A
Administrator
1) System administrator. 2) In previous
versions of XProtect Professional: the main
application used by XProtect Professional
administrators for configuring the surveillance
system server. Now called the Management
Application.
Carousel
A feature for displaying video from several
cameras, one after the other, in a single
camera position. The required cameras and
the intervals between changes are specified by
the XProtect Professional administrator. The
carousel feature is available, if configured, in
the Smart Client.
Central
Analytics Events
Analytics events are typically data received
from an external third-party video content
analysis (VCA) provider. An example of a
VCA-based system is an access control
system. Analytics events can be integrated
seamlessly with the Alarms feature.
API
Application Program Interface—set of tools
and building blocks for creating or customizing
software applications.
A product available as an add-on to XProtect
Professional. XProtect Central provides a
complete overview of status and alarms from
any number of XProtect Professional servers,
regardless of location.
Codec
A technology for compressing and
decompressing audio and video data, for
example, in an exported AVI file. MPEG and
Indeo are examples of frequently used codecs.
CSV
Aspect ratio
The height/width relationship of an image.
ATM
Automatic teller machine—machine that
dispenses money when a personal coded card
is used.
www.milestonesys.com
Comma-separated values data format that
stores tabular data, where the lines represent
rows in a table and commas define the
columns, in a simple file. For example, data
about cameras may appear as commaseparated values in a .csv file, which can then
be imported into XProtect Professional. A
simple but effective method if setting up
several similar systems.
215
Glossary of terms
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
D
Device
In XProtect Professional : a camera, video
encoder, input device, or output device
connected to a recording server.
Event Server
A server that stores and handles incoming
alarm data and events from all XProtect
Professional servers. The Event Server
enables powerful monitoring and provides an
instant overview of alarms and possible
technical problems within your systems.
DirectX
A Windows extension providing advanced
multimedia capabilities.
F
Fisheye
A type of lens that allows the creation and
viewing of 360-degree images.
DNS
Domain Name System—system allowing
translation between alphabetic host names (for
example, mycomputer) or domain names (for
example, www.mydomain.com) and numeric
IP addresses (for example, 192.168.212.2).
Many people find alphabetic names easier to
remember than numeric IP addresses.
FPS
A program used for controlling/communicating
with a device.
Frames per second—measurement indicating
the amount of information contained in a
motion video. Each frame represents a still
image, but when frames are displayed in
succession, the illusion of motion is created.
The higher the FPS, the smoother the motion
appears. Note, however, that a high FPS may
also lead to a large file size when video is
saved.
DST
Frame rate
Daylight saving time; temporarily advancing of
clocks during the summer so that afternoons
have more daylight and mornings have less.
A measurement indicating the amount of
information contained in motion video—
typically measured in FPS.
Dual stream
FTP
Some cameras support two independent
streams (which can be sent to the recording
server): one for live viewing and another for
playback purposes. Each stream has its own
resolution, encoding, and frame rate.
File Transfer Protocol—standard for
exchanging files across the internet. FTP uses
the TCP/IP standards for data transfer and is
often used for uploading or downloading files
to and from servers.
Driver
DVR
G
Digital video recorder—device that records
video in a digital format to a hard disk drive
embedded in the DVR itself.
E
www.milestonesys.com
Generic events
XProtect Professional can receive and analyze
input in the form of TCP or UDP data
packages which, if they match specified
criteria, can be used to generate events. Such
events are called generic events.
216
Glossary of terms
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
GOP
Group of pictures; individual frames grouped
together, forming a video-motion sequence.
can be configured individually, even when
several of them are attached to a single
hardware device.
Host
Grace period
When you install XProtect Professional,
configure the system and add recording
servers and cameras, XProtect Professional
runs on temporary licenses. These need to be
activated before a certain period ends. This is
the grace period.
A computer connected to a TCP/IP network. A
host has its own IP address, but may—
depending on network configuration—also
have a host name to make it easily
identifiable.
Hotspot
GSM
Global System for Mobile communications—a
standard for mobile telephony.
Particular position for viewing enlarged and/or
high quality video in the Smart Client.
HTTP
GUID
Globally unique identifier—unique 128-bit
number used to identify components on a
Windows system.
HyperText Transfer Protocol—standard for
exchanging files across the internet. HTTP is
the standard used for formatting and
transmission of data on the World Wide Web.
I
H
H.264
A standard for compressing and
decompressing video data (a codec). H.264 is
a relatively recent codec; it compresses video
more effectively than older codecs, and it
provides more flexibility for use in a variety of
network environments.
Hardware device
Technically speaking, cameras are not added
to XProtect Professional, rather to hardware
devices. This is because hardware devices
have their own IP addresses or host names.
Being IP-based, XProtect Professional
primarily identifies units based on their IP
addresses or host names. Even though each
hardware device has its own IP address or
host name, several cameras, microphones,
and so on, can be attached to a single
hardware device and share the same IP
address or host name. This is typically the
case with cameras attached to video encoder
devices. Each camera, microphone, and so on,
www.milestonesys.com
I/O
Input/Output; refers to the communication
between a computer and a person. Inputs are
the signals or data received by the system and
outputs are the signals or data sent from it.
I-frame
Short name for intra-frame; used in the MPEG
standard for digital video compression. An Iframe is a single frame stored at specified
intervals. The I-frame records the entire view
of the camera, whereas the frames that follow
(P-frames) record only the pixels that change.
This helps greatly reduce the size of MPEG
files. An I-frame is similar to a keyframe.
Image Server
A service that handles access to XProtect
Professional for remote users logging in with
Smart Client The Image Server service does
not require separate hardware; it runs in the
background on the XProtect Professional
server. The Image Server service is not
217
Glossary of terms
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
configured separately as it is configured
through XProtect Professional 's Management
Application.
the pixels that change. This helps greatly
reduce the size of MPEG files.
M
IP
Internet Protocol—protocol (or standard)
specifying the format and addressing scheme
used for sending data packets across
networks. IP is often combined with another
protocol, TCP. The combination, known as
TCP/IP, allows data packets to be sent back
and forth between two points on a network for
longer periods of time and is used when
connecting computers and other devices on
the internet.
MAC address
IP address
Master/Slave
Internet Protocol address; the identifier for a
computer or device on a network. It is used by
the TCP/IP protocol for routing data traffic to
the intended destination. An IP address
consists of four numbers, each between 0 and
256, separated by periods (example:
192.168.212.2).
A setup of servers where one server (the
master server) is of higher importance than the
remaining servers (the slave servers). With a
master/slave setup in XProtect Professional, it
is possible to combine several XProtect
Professional servers and extend the number of
cameras you can use beyond the maximum
allowed number of cameras for a single server.
In such a setup, clients will still have a single
point of contact: they connect to the master
server but also get access, transparently, to
cameras and recordings on the slave servers.
IPIX
A technology that allows the creation and
viewing of 360-degree panomorph (fisheye)
images.
Media Access Control address—12-character
hexadecimal number uniquely identifying each
device on a network.
Manual events
You can generate an event manually from the
client. These events are called manual events.
Matrix
J
JPEG
(Also JPG) Joint Photographic Experts
Group—widely used lossy compression
technique for images.
K
A feature enabling the control of live camera
views on remote computers for distributed
viewing. Once configured, Matrix-triggered live
video can be viewed in the Smart Client.
Matrix recipient
A computer equipped with Smart Client
software and therefore capable of displaying
Matrix-triggered live video.
Keyframe
MJPEG
Used in the MPEG standard for digital video
compression, a keyframe is a single frame
stored at specified intervals. The keyframe
records the entire view of the camera, whereas
the frames between the keyframes record only
Motion JPEG—compressed video format
where each frame is a separately compressed
JPEG image. The method used is quite similar
to the I-frame method used for MPEG, but no
interframe prediction is used. This allows for
somewhat easier editing, and makes
www.milestonesys.com
218
Glossary of terms
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
compression independent of the amount of
motion.
Monitor
1) A computer screen. 2) An application used
in previous versions of XProtect Professional
for recording and displaying video. The Monitor
application has been discontinued.
MPEG
Compression standards and file formats for
digital video developed by the Moving Pictures
Experts Group. MPEG standards use so-called
lossy compression as they store only the
changes between frames, removing often
considerable amounts of redundant
information. Keyframes stored at specified
intervals record the entire view of the camera,
whereas the frames that follow record only
pixels that change. This helps greatly reduce
the size of MPEG files.
N
NTLM
In a Windows network, NT LAN Manager is a
network authentication protocol.
P
Panomorph
A type of lens that allows the creation and
viewing of 360-degree images.
PIN
Personal identification number (or personal
identity number)—number used to identify and
authenticate users.
Ping
A computer network administration utility used
to determine whether an IP address is
available, by sending a small amount of data to
see if it responds. The word ping was chosen
because it mirrors the sound of a sonar. You
send the ping command using a Windows
command prompt.
Polling
Regularly checking the state of something, for
example, whether input has been received on
a particular input port of a device. The defined
interval between such state checks is often
called a polling frequency.
Port
Logical endpoint for data traffic. Networks use
different ports for different types of data traffic.
Therefore it is sometimes, but not always,
necessary to specify which port to use for
particular data communication. Most ports are
used automatically based on the types of data
included in the communication. On TCP/IP
networks, port numbers range from 0 to 65536,
but only ports 0 to 1024 are reserved for
particular purposes. For example, port 80 is
used for HTTP traffic, which is used when
viewing web pages.
POS
P-frame
Predictive frame—the MPEG standard for
digital video compression uses P-frames
together with I-frames. An I-frame, also known
as a keyframe, is a single frame stored at
specified intervals. The I-frame records the
entire view of the camera, whereas the frames
that follow (the P-frames) record only the
pixels that change. This helps greatly reduce
the size of MPEG files.
www.milestonesys.com
(Also PoS) Point of sale; the physical place
where a sale is made, for example, at the cash
register.
Post-recording
The ability to store recordings from periods
following motion and/or specified events.
Based on incoming video being buffered on
the XProtect Professional server in case it is
going to be needed for a motion- or eventtriggered recording. Using post-recording can
219
Glossary of terms
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
be highly advantageous: if, for example, you
have defined that video should be recorded
while a gate is open, being able to see what
happens immediately after the gate is closed
may also be important.
Pre-alarm
Pre-alarm images is a feature available for
selected cameras only; it enables the sending
of images from immediately before an event
took place from the camera to XProtect
Professional via e-mail.
Pre-buffer
See the description of Pre-recording.
Pre-recording
The ability to store recordings from periods
preceding detected motion and/or specified
events. Based on incoming video being
buffered on the XProtect Professional server in
case it is going to be needed for a motion- or
event-triggered recording. Using pre-recording
can be highly advantageous: if, for example,
you have defined that video should be
recorded when a door is opened, being able to
see what happened immediately prior to the
door being opened may also be important.
Administrator's Manual
R
Recording
On IP video surveillance systems, recording
means saving video and, if applicable,
audio from a camera in the camera’s
database on the surveillance system. In
many IP surveillance systems, all the
video/audio received from cameras is not
necessarily saved. Saving of video and audio
in a camera’s database is in many cases
started only when there is a reason to do so,
for example, when motion is detected, when
an event occurs, or when a specific period of
time begins. Recording is then stopped after a
specified amount of time, for example, when
motion is no longer detected, when an event
occurs, or when a time period ends. The term
recording originates from the analog video
era, when images were taped only when the
record button was pressed.
Recording Server service
Windows service (without any user interface)
used by XProtect Professional for recording
and displaying video. Video is only transferred
to the surveillance system while the Recording
Server service is running.
Restore point
Privacy masking
The ability to define if and how selected areas
of a camera's view should be masked before
distribution. For example, if an XProtect
Professional camera films a street, you can
mask certain areas of a building (for example,
windows and doors) with privacy masking in
order to protect residents' privacy.
Restore points allow you to return to a
previous configuration state. When a
configuration change is applied in XProtect
Professional, a restore point is created. If
something goes wrong in your configuration,
you can browse through restore points, and
return to a suitable one.
S
PTZ
Pan/Tilt/Zoom—highly movable and flexible
type of camera.
SCS
A file extension (.scs) for a script type targeted
at controlling clients.
PUK
Personal Unblocking Key or PIN Unlock Key—
number used as an extra security measure for
SIM cards.
www.milestonesys.com
SDK
Software Development Kit—programming
package enabling software developers to
220
Glossary of terms
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
create applications for use with a specific
platform.
Administrator's Manual
use subnet masks to divide networks into
subnets.
SIM
T
Subscriber identity module—circuit stored on a
small card inserted into a mobile phone or
computer, or other mobile device. The SIM
card is used to identify and authenticate the
user.
SLC
Software license code—product registration
code required for using the XProtect
Professional software. If you do not have
system administration responsibilities, you do
not have to deal with SLCs. System
administrators use SLCs when installing and
registering the software.
SMS
Short Message Service or Systems
Management Server; 1) Short Message
Service, a system for sending text messages
to mobile phones. 2) Systems Management
Server, a Microsoft tool which lets system
administrators build up databases of hardware
and software on local networks. The
databases can then—among other things—be
used for distributing and installing software
applications over local networks.
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol—protocol (or
standard) used for sending data packets
across networks. TCP is often combined with
another protocol, IP (Internet Protocol). The
combination, known as TCP/IP, allows data
packets to be sent back and forth between two
points on a network for longer periods of time,
and is used when connecting computers and
other devices on the internet.
TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol—combination of protocols (or
standards) used when connecting computers
and other devices on networks, including the
internet.
Telnet
Terminal emulation program used on TCP/IP
networks. With Telnet, you can connect to a
server from a computer on the network and
execute commands through Telnet as if you
were entering them directly on the server.
Windows includes a client for use with Telnet.
SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol—standard for
sending e-mail messages between mail
servers.
Subnet
A part of a network. Dividing a network into
subnets can be advantageous for
management and security reasons, and may in
some cases also help improve performance.
On TCP/IP-based networks, a subnet is
basically a part of a network on which all
devices share the same prefix in their IP
addresses, for example 123.123.123.xxx,
where the first three numbers (123.123.123)
are the shared prefix. Network administrators
www.milestonesys.com
Transact
An add-on to XProtect Professional. XProtect
Transact can help you prevent loss and
shrinkage through video evidence combined
with time-linked POS or ATM transaction data.
U
UDP
User Datagram Protocol—connectionless
protocol for sending data packets across
networks. Primarily used for broadcasting
messages. UDP is a fairly simple protocol, with
less error recovery features than, for example,
the TCP protocol.
221
Glossary of terms
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
UPS
Video server
A UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) works
as a battery-driven secondary power source,
providing the necessary power for saving open
files and safely powering down your system in
the event of power irregularities. UPSs vary in
sophistication, but many UPSs include
software for automatically saving open files, for
alerting system administrators, etc.
Another name for a video encoder.
View
In XProtect Professional, a collection of video
from one or more cameras, presented together
in the Smart Client. A view may include other
content, such as HTML pages and static
images, in addition to video from cameras.
URL
Uniform Resource Locator; an address of a
resource on the World Wide Web. The first
part of a URL specifies which protocol (or data
communication standard) to use when
accessing the resource, whereas the second
part of the URL specifies the domain or IP
address at which the resource is located. For
example, www.milestonesys.com.
VMD
Video motion detection; way of defining activity
in a scene by analyzing image data and the
differences in a series of images.
W
Wizard
V
VCA
Video content analysis (VCA) is a system that
detects various types of previously specified
behavior, both of humans and vehicles. A
VCA-based system provides third-party video
content analysis, spanning from face
recognition, over advanced motion detection,
to complex behavioral analysis. VCA systems
and their output can seamlessly be integrated
with the Alarms feature and used for, for
example, triggering alarms. Here, the events
resulting from VCA systems are called
analytics events.
Third-party VCA tools are developed by
independent partners delivering solutions
based on an a Milestone open platform. These
solutions can impact performance on XProtect
Professional.
Video encoder
A utility to help perform a particular task
quickly, while also ensuring coverage of all
relevant parameters. For example, the Adjust
Motion Detection wizard quickly helps you
configure motion detection on each of XProtect
Professional 's cameras without the risk of
forgetting to set any key parameters.
X
XProtect Smart Client
An advanced client application for letting
remote users access XProtect Professional in
order to view live images, play back recorded
images, activate output, print and export
evidence, and so on (access to features
depend on individual user rights). Some of the
features include live and playback video, digital
zoom, and timeline browsing. The Smart Client
should always be downloaded from XProtect
Professional and installed locally on remote
users' computers.
A device, typically a standalone device, that
can stream video from a number of connected
client cameras. Video encoders contain image
digitizers, making it possible to connect analog
cameras to a network.
www.milestonesys.com
222
Glossary of terms
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
About installing surveillance server software or
Index
XProtect Smart Client silently • 23
About licenses • 30
3
360 degrees panomorph support • 191
About logs • 142
360° lens • 99
About master and slave • 154
A
About Matrix recipients • 139
About activating licenses • 27, 30, 31, 177
About Matrix video sharing • 138
About activating licenses after grace period •
About microphones • 107
31
About MIP plug-ins • 170, 177
About alarms • 109, 170, 172, 173, 174
About alarms in the Smart Client • 172
About archiving • 27, 47, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 63,
68, 74, 75, 77, 86, 94, 106, 125, 126, 127,
136, 146, 148, 189
About archiving audio • 128
About archiving locations • 126
About archiving schedules • 126, 131
About archiving to other locations • 127
About backup and restore of configurations •
178
About database resizing • 68
About dedicated input/output devices • 64, 117
About Mobile server • 15, 163
About Mobile Server Manager • 15, 168
About motion detection and PTZ cameras • 69,
72
About motion detection settings • 68, 72, 97
About privacy options • 35
About protecting recording databases from
corruption • 95, 187
About recording audio • 106
About registered services • 151
About replacing cameras • 34
About saving configuration changes in
XProtect Enterprise 8.0 and streamlined
About dynamic archive paths • 127
XProtect software versions • 163
About e-mail • 146
About scheduling • 125
About events and output • 109
About server access • 151
About handling daylight saving time • 185
About services • 68, 142, 151, 162, 163, 188
About hardware devices • 62
About show status • 168, 169
About input and output • 109
About SMS • 148
www.milestonesys.com
223
Index
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
About speakers • 107
About the Replace Hardware Device wizard •
30, 34, 62, 65, 67
Administrator's Manual
Add a Video push channel as a hardware
device • 164, 165
Add an alarm • 171, 172, 173
About upgrading • 25
Add an analytics event • 111, 117
About users • 156
Add basic users • 28, 152, 156, 157, 158, 159,
About video and recording configuration • 27,
68, 70, 73, 75, 76, 81, 84, 86, 88, 89, 91, 92,
93, 95, 96, 97, 100, 107, 108, 127, 132, 136
About Video push • 163, 164
About viewing version and license information
• 188
About XProtect Central • 150
About XProtect Mobile client • 15, 163
About XProtect Smart Client • 12
About XProtect Web Client • 15, 163
Access logs and exports • 168, 169
Access XProtect Web Client • 15, 168
Activate License - Offline • 33
Activate License - Online • 32
Add a generic event • 111, 113
Add a hardware input event • 111, 119
Add a hardware output • 96, 109, 111, 112,
114, 120
160, 161
Add hardware devices settings • 165
Add Hardware Devices wizard - Import from
CSV File - example of CSV file • 45
Add user groups • 28, 59, 152, 156, 157, 158,
159, 160, 161
Add Windows users • 156, 157, 158, 159, 160,
161
Add/edit a Mobile server • 164
Adjust Motion Detection wizard • 57
Administrator • 191
Administrator rights • 21
Advanced • 39, 41
Advanced configuration • 62
Alarm Access (Properties) • 161
Alarm data settings • 175
Alarms • 170
Alarms definition • 113, 173, 175
Add a manual event • 111, 112, 120, 171, 174
Alarms properties • 173
Add a time profile (for Alarms) • 171, 172, 174,
Analytics event • 111, 117
176
Analytics event settings (for alarms)
Add a timer event • 111, 113, 120, 121, 125
Add a Video push channel • 164, 167
(properties) • 37
Analytics Events • 191
Analytics events settings • 36
www.milestonesys.com
224
Index
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
API • 191
Central • 150, 191
Application settings • 35
Central properties • 150, 151
Apply/save configuration changes • 188
Change language • 36
Archiving • 126, 136
Change SLC • 34
Aspect ratio • 191
Change/restore Management Application
ATM • 191
Audio • 91, 106
behavior • 28, 36
Clear your Internet browser's cache upon
upgrade • 16, 208
Audio recording • 86
Clients • 12
Audio selection • 86
Codec • 191
Automatic response if running out of disk
space • 129
AVI • 191
Common tasks • 185
Configure analytics events in alarms • 173
Configure camera-specific schedules • 28, 69,
B
Back up and restore Alarms configuration •
71, 132, 134, 136, 137, 138
Configure default file paths • 126, 128, 178,
179
Back up system configuration • 25, 178
Back up your current configuration • 25
188
Configure e-mail notifications • 119, 121, 124,
137, 146
Backup and restore configuration • 178
Basic & Windows Users • 60
Before you start • 20
Browser • 191
Configure general event handling • 110, 114,
115, 122
Configure general scheduling and archiving •
28, 71, 131, 134, 135
Configure hardware devices • 64, 65, 66, 67,
C
Camera access • 135, 157, 158, 159, 160
Camera and database action • 62, 63
Camera properties • 88
Cameras and storage information • 68
100
Configure hardware output on event • 109,
111, 112, 114, 125
Configure master and slave servers • 10, 28,
154
Camera-specific scheduling properties • 136
Carousel • 191
www.milestonesys.com
Configure Matrix • 28, 139
Configure microphones or speakers • 108
225
Index
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Configure motion detection • 72
Dual stream • 192
Configure server access • 28, 59, 152, 154
DVR • 192
Configure SMS notifications • 120, 121, 124,
Dynamic path selection • 47, 68, 75, 95, 127,
138, 148, 149
Configure system, event and audit logging •
189
E
Edit certificate • 168, 169
144
Configure User Access wizard • 28, 59, 151,
156, 157, 158, 171
E-mail • 146
E-mail notification • 119, 121, 124, 134, 136,
access summary • 61
Configure user and group rights • 28, 59, 61,
137, 146, 147
E-mail properties • 137, 146
63, 81, 93, 96, 101, 103, 112, 152, 156, 158
Enable XProtect Central • 150
Configure when cameras should do what • 71
Event notification • 95
Copyright, trademarks and disclaimer • 9
Event Server • 192
CSV • 191
Event Server settings • 37
CSV file format and requirements • 45, 46, 183
Events and output • 109
D
Delete a Mobile server • 164
Delete hardware devices • 65, 72
Detected and verified hardware devices • 42,
43
Events and output properties • 117
Exclude regions • 58, 72
Export • 167
Export and import management application
configuration • 47, 178, 181, 183
Device • 191
DirectX • 192
Disable information collection • 36
Express • 39
F
Fill in/edit surveillance server credentials • 168,
Disable or delete cameras • 72
DNS • 192
Download Manager • 17, 210
Drive selection • 54
Driver • 192
DST • 192
www.milestonesys.com
170
Fisheye • 64, 99, 100, 192
FPS • 192
Frame rate • 192
Frame rate - MJPEG • 81, 137
Frame Rate - MPEG • 84
226
Index
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
FTP • 192
HTTP • 193
G
I
General • 51, 53, 77, 88, 92, 97, 178
I/O • 193
General access • 157, 158, 159, 161
If the camera uses the MJPEG video format •
General event properties • 116
General scheduling properties • 133
78
If the camera uses the MPEG video format •
80
Generate alarms based on analytics events •
I-frame • 193
113
Generic event • 113, 121
Generic events • 192
Get your system up and running • 23, 27
Getting started • 27
GOP • 192
Image Server • 193
Import changes to configuration • 183
Import from CSV file • 26, 39, 45
Important port numbers • 21
Improve stability with 3 GB virtual memory •
185
Grace period • 192
Info • 165
Group information • 159
Information, driver selection and verification •
GSM • 192
GUID • 193
H
44
Install and upgrade • 23
Install from a DVD • 12, 13
H.264 • 193
Hardware detection and verification • 40
Hardware device • 193
Hardware devices • 62
Hardware input event • 111, 112, 113, 119
Hardware name and video channels • 65
Install from the surveillance server • 12
Install silently • 14, 24
Install the XProtect Smart Client • 12
Install XProtect Mobile client • 15
Install your surveillance server software • 23,
27, 155, 180
Hardware output • 120
Introduction • 10
Hardware properties • 65
IP • 193
Host • 193
Hotspot • 193
www.milestonesys.com
IP address • 193
IP ranges, drivers and authentication • 42
227
Index
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
IPIX • 193
Microphone properties • 108
J
Microphones • 107
JPEG • 194
K
Minimum system requirements • 20
MIP plug-ins • 177
Keyframe • 194
MJPEG • 194
L
Language support and XML encoding • 152,
Mobile Server • 163
Mobile Server Manager • 168
153
Licenses • 30
Mobile server settings • 165
Live and recording settings Motion-JPEG
Monitor • 194
cameras • 50
Live and recording settings MPEG cameras •
Monitor storage space usage • 189
Motion Detection • 58
52
Motion detection & exclude regions • 51, 53,
Local IP ranges • 152, 153
72, 77, 84, 85, 92, 97, 111, 146, 147, 148,
Log properties • 144
Logs • 142
150
Move PTZ type 1 and 3 to required positions •
72, 102
M
MAC address • 194
MPEG • 194
Manual • 39, 43
N
Manual event • 120
Manual events • 194
Manual recording • 81, 93, 161
Master/Slave • 154, 194
Network, device type, and license • 64, 66
New hardware device information • 62
NTLM • 194
O
Online period • 16, 51, 53, 72, 77, 88, 92, 112,
Master/slave properties • 155
Matrix • 138, 194
Matrix event control • 139, 141
Matrix properties • 140
Matrix recipient • 194
Matrix recipients • 139, 140
www.milestonesys.com
135, 136, 209
Online schedule • 50
Output • 96, 112
Output control on event (Events and Outputspecific properties) • 114, 125
Overview and names • 40, 41, 42, 44
228
Index
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
Overview of events and output • 36, 109, 173
Recording Server Manager • 16, 209
Overview of license information • 30, 31
Recording Server service • 196
P
Register SLC • 32
Panomorph • 194
P-frame • 194
PIN • 195
Ping • 195
Polling • 195
Port • 195
Ports and polling • 64, 114, 116
POS • 195
Regular frame rate properties • 82
Removal • 26
Remove the current version • 26
Rename a Mobile server • 164
Replace hardware devices • 65
Restore point • 196
Restore system configuration • 179
Restore system configuration from a restore
point • 178, 183, 188
Post-recording • 195
Pre-alarm • 195
Pre-buffer • 195
Pre-recording • 195
Privacy masking • 98, 195
PTZ • 195
PTZ device • 64, 67
PTZ on event • 105, 112
PTZ patrolling • 69, 103, 134, 138
PTZ preset positions • 101, 103, 105
PUK • 195
S
Scheduling all cameras • 131, 134
Scheduling and archiving • 125
Scheduling options • 50, 131, 135, 136, 137
SCS • 196
SDK • 196
Server access • 22, 151, 152
Server access properties • 152
Server access settings • 60
Server status • 166
Servers • 163
R
Recording • 68, 76, 81, 84, 92, 119, 162, 196
Services • 162
Recording and archiving paths • 73, 93, 126,
Show or hide microphone and/or speaker •
127, 189
107, 108
Recording and archiving settings • 56
Show/edit port numbers • 168, 170
Recording and storage properties • 73
SIM • 196
www.milestonesys.com
229
Index
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
SLC • 196
Time profile • 176
SMS • 148, 196
Time server recommended • 22
SMS notification • 120, 121, 124, 134, 136,
Timer event • 113, 121
138, 149, 150
SMS properties • 136, 138, 149
Transact • 197
U
SMTP • 196
UDP • 197
Sound settings • 175, 176
Updates • 19
Speaker properties • 107, 108
Upgrade • 25
Speakers • 107
Upgrade from a previous version • 23, 25, 27,
178
Speedup • 79, 84, 85, 90, 137
Speedup frame rate properties • 83
Start and stop services • 57, 58, 64, 65, 97,
UPS • 197
URL • 197
101, 103, 106, 149, 150, 162, 163, 183, 189,
Use the built-in help system • 28
190
User information • 159
Start, stop and restart Mobile service • 168,
User properties • 159
170
Storage capacity required for archiving • 128
Storage information • 87
Subnet • 196
T
TCP • 196
TCP/IP • 196
Telnet • 197
Template and common properties • 82
Test a generic event • 114, 121
The Add Hardware Devices wizard • 27, 32,
33, 39, 62, 64
The Configure Video and Recording wizard •
Users • 156
V
VCA • 109, 113, 173, 197
Video • 85, 89, 137
Video device drivers • 26
Video encoder • 197
Video push • 165, 167
Video recording • 76
Video server • 197
Video settings and preview • 49
View • 197
View archived recordings • 131
49, 127, 131
www.milestonesys.com
230
Index
Milestone XProtect®
Professional 8.1
Administrator's Manual
View video from cameras in Management
Application • 57, 58, 97, 101, 103, 106, 189,
190
Virus scanning information • 22, 132
VMD • 197
W
Wizard • 197
Wizards • 39
X
XProtect Mobile client • 15
XProtect Professional overview • 10
XProtect Smart Client • 12, 198
XProtect Web Client • 15
www.milestonesys.com
231
Index
About Milestone Systems
Founded in 1998, Milestone Systems is the global
industry leader in open platform IP video
management software. The XProtect platform delivers
powerful surveillance that is easy to manage, reliable
and proven in thousands of customer installations
around the world. With support for the widest choice
in network hardware and integration with other
systems, XProtect provides best-in-class solutions to
video enable organizations – managing risks,
protecting people and assets, optimizing processes
and reducing costs. Milestone software is sold
through authorized and certified partners. For more
information, visit:
www.milestonesys.com.